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SWEET  SIXTEEN 


THE  LOVERS  AFLOAT 


'THE  COURSE  OF  TRUE  I<OVE  NEVER  DID  RUN  SMOOTH." 


A  WIFE'S  DEVOTION 


A  MOTHER'S  CARE  AND  AFFECTION 


THE  GOLDEN  HOURS  ON  ANGEL  WINGS 

FLEW  O'ER  ME  AND  MY  DEARIE; 

FOR   DEAR  TO  ME  AS  LIGHT  AND  LIFE 

WAS  MY  SWEET  HIGHLAND  MARY. 

ROBERT  BURNS 


A   MOORISH   BEAUTY 


CONSULTING  HER  PROGRAMME 


A  PROMENADE  AT  THE  OPERA 


THE  OLD  LOVE  EXCHANGED  FOR  THE  NEW 


THE  SERENADE 


NATURE'S  TYPICAL  FEMALE  WAIST 


THE  GLORY  ^F  WOMAN 


OR 

Love,  Marriage  and  Maternity 

CONTAINING 

FULL    INFORMATION    ON   ALL    THE    MARVELOUS    AND    COMPLEX 
MATTERS    PERTAINING   TO  WOMEN 

INCLUDING 

CREATIVE  SCIENCE;  BEARING,  NURSING  AND  REARING  CHILDREN; 

HEREDITARY  DESCENT;  HINTS  ON  COURTSHIP  AND 

MARRIAGE;  PROMOTING  HEALTH  AND 

BEAUTY,  VIGOR  OF  MIND  AND 

BODY,  ETC.,  ETC. 

TOGETHER  WITH  THE 

DISEASES  PECULIAR  TO  THE  FEMALE  SEX 

THEIR  CAUSES,  SYMPTOMS  AND  TREATMENT 

THE  WHOLE  FORMING  A 
COMPLETE  MEDICAL  GUIDE  FOR  WOMEN 

BY 

MONFORT  B.  ALLEN,  M.D. 

AND 

AMELIA  C.  MCGREGOR,  M.D. 


EMBELLISHED    WITH    MANY    SUPERB   COLORED    PLATES, 
PHOTOTYPE  AND  WOOD  ENGRAVINGS 


THE  WHITAKER  &  RAY  CO., 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1896,  by 

G.     W.     BERTRON, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
AH  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 


"Y    "THAT  all  wives,  mothers  and  maidens  should  know  respecting 
j&L       themselves,  is  fully  and  clearly  stated  in  this  new,  very  com- 
prehensive   and    charming   volume.     It    contains   the    most 
important  and  valuable  information  concerning  the  female  organism, 
the  physical  life  of  woman,  and  all  subjects   in  which  she  is  most 
deeply  interested. 

PART  I. — LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE.  The  love  which  blossoms  into 
marriage  and  maternity;  the  wise  counsels  which  should  regulate 
courtship  and  the  conjugal  state ;  and  the  necessary  qualifications 
for  married  life,  are  all  set  forth  in  a  way  that  both  instructs  and 
delights  the  reader. 

How  to  render  marriage  and  motherhood  the  sources  of  the  purest 
and  deepest  happiness  known  to  earth  ;  the  temperaments  that  should 
unite  to  form  a  perfect  wedlock ;  the  harmonious  development  of  the 
whole  woman ;  manly  husbands  and  devoted  wives ;  these  and  kindred 
subjects  enrich  the  pages  of  this  work. 

PART  II. — THE  REPRODUCTIVE  ORGANS.  This  part  treats  of  crea- 
tive science.  Reproduction  is  nature's  grandest  work,  yet  how  little 
understood!  Ignorance  on  such  a  subject  as  this  is  a  sin.  This 
comprehensive  volume  pours  a  flood  of  light  on  all  the  wonderful 
and  complex  matters  peculiar  to  women. 

It  answers  questions  which  all  mothers  and  daughters  desire  to  ask 
and  furnishes  information  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects  but  little 
understood,  which  are  all  important  to  the  health,  the  happiness  and 
the  long  life  of  both  the  married  and  the  unmarried. 

This  work  is  a  self-instructor,  replete  with  knowledge  of  the  female 
anatomy.  "Know  thyself"  is  the  old  adage,  and  every  woman  can 
fulfill  the  injunction  by  perusing  this  volume.  It  is  a  faithful  friend 
and  companion.  All  that  goes  before  childbirth;  all  that  married 
persons  should  fully  know  and  understand,  is  plainly  stated.  And 

iii 


iv  PREFACE. 

these   delicate   subjects   are   treated   in   such   a  way  that  womanly 
modesty  is  never  offended. 

The  marvelous  human  germ;  the  growth  of  the  new  life;  labor 
and  confinement ;  lactation  or  nursing,  are  all  described,  together  with 
female  complaints  and  diseases.  The  kind  physician  and  helper  is 
always  at  hand.  Indeed,  this  volume,  packed  from  lid  to  lid  with 
excellent  advice,  plain  hints  and  suggestions,  and  information  needed 
every  day,  may  truly  be  called  a  life-saver. 

PART  III. — CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF  CHILDREN.  A  well-known 
writer  has  said,  "It  is  the  mother  after  all  that  has  the  most  to  do 
with  the  making  or  marring  of  the  man."  What  every  mother 
should  fully  understand  respecting  the  child,  born  of  her  love  and 
committed  to  her  care,  is  contained  in  this  work  and  should  be  read 
in  every  home  throughout  the  land.  Our  American  girls  are  growing 
stronger,  rounding  out  into  a  more  perfect  physique,  and  securing 
better  health,  because  their  mothers  are  giving  them  more  intelligent 
care  in  childhood,  and  our  best  schools  afford  them  a  thorough 
physical  education.  This  work  is  right  in  the  line  of  that  education 
which  aims  to  make  our  American  youth  as  strong  and  vigorous  in 
body  as  they  are  bright  and  capable  in  mind. 

PART  IV. — FEMALE  BEAUTY  AND  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  This  is  a 
subject  of  universal  interest.  To  improve  one's  personal  appearance 
and  endow  it  with  new  charms  might  almost  be  considered  a  duty. 
More  than  half  of  the  success  in  life  among  both  sexes  depends  upon 
personal  appearance  and  first  impressions.  Good  common  sense, 
hygienic  rules  and  suggestions  are  of  the  utmost  value.  Many  a 
lady  of  fashion,  pale,  sickly,  lifeless  and  miserable,  would  give  all  she 
is  worth  for  the  rosy  bloom  on  the  cheeks  of  the*  healthy,  happy 
peasant  girl. 

PART  V. —  POLITENESS;  OR,  WOMAN  IN  SOCIETY.  Tasteful  and 
becoming  dress;  deportment  and  good  manners;  the  art  of  con- 
versing well;  rules  of  etiquette,  and  other  important  subjects  are 
comprised  in  this  part  of  the  volume,  the  comprehensive  and  valuable 
character  of  which  is  seen  at  a  glance. 


CONTENTS. 


PART   I. 
LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE. 

CHAPTER   I. 
THE   QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  MARRIED  LIFE. 

Love,  the  Source  of  Happiness  or  Misery — Woman's  Place  in  Mohammed's  Para- 
dise— Marriage  an  Ordinance  of  Heaven — Parents  Stamp  their  Characteristics 
on  their  Children — Nature's  Time  for  Marrying — Well  Developed  Mind  and 
Body — Evil  Habits — Self-Goverument  and  Discipline — Industry  and  Thrift — 
Young  Ladies  and  the  Fashions — Domestic  Duties — Value  of  Self-Reliance- 
Lamentable  Ignorance — Hereditary  Influence — Marriage  Means  Parentage- 
Lawful  Pride  in  Fine  Offspring 17 

CHAPTER   II. 
ADVICE  TO  THE  UNMARRIED. 

Marrying  to  Please  Others— Stigma  of  "Old  Maid,"  or  "Old  Bachelor  "—Sound 
Judgment  Needed — "Petticoat  Government" — Both  Parties  Should  Do  the 
Courting — Flirting  as  a  Pastime — Fashion  and  Domestic  Duties — How  Romance 
Disappears — Dram-Drinking  Husbands — Marrying  for  Money — Long  Court- 
ships— Temperaments  that  are  Too  Much  Alike — Like  Parents,  Like  Children — 
Prowling  Fortune-Hunters — Marrying  Out  of  Your  Natural  Sphere — Evils  of 
Coquettery — Defective  Education — Exciting  Unhealthy  Passions — Harmonious 
Development  of  the  Whole  Woman 26 

CHAPTER    III. 
LIKE  BEGETS  LIKE. 

Eifects  of  Hereditary  Disease — Mental  or  Nervous  Organization — Living  too  Fast — 
Bilious  Temperament — Coarse  Muscles — Sluggish  Brains — The  Mental  Dwarfed 
by  the  Physical — Well  Balanced  People — Perverted  Passions — Violation  of 
Physical  Laws — Society  in  Upheaval — Young  Ladies  and  Their  Associates — 
Parental  Responsibility— Transmitting  Disease  and  Death— Sins  of  Parents 
Visited  on  Their  Children — Perfecting  the  Race — The  Characteristics  of  the 

Child  Determined  by  the  Parents 37 

V 


yi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IV. 
LOVE  AND  PARENTAGE. 

Courtship  the  Mere  Alphabet  of  Love — Glory  of  the  Wife  and  Mother — Sharing 
Common  Joys  and  Sorrows — Idolized  Children — Perfect  Love  and  Confidence 
in  Marriage — Animal  Love  and  Moral  Excellence — Wedlock's  Sacred  Bonds — 
Physical  and  Mental  Sexuality — Development  of  Female  Charms — Blushing 
Maids — No  Necessity  for  Female  Beauty  to  Decline — Decay  of  Health — House- 
hold Drudgery — Bad  Diet  and  Habits — Diminution  of  Affection  in  Marriage — 
Uncongenial  Mates — Dying  Before  Your  Time 49 

CHAPTER  V. 
IMPORTANT  TRUTHS  FOR  THE  NEWLY  MARRIED. 

Self-Improvement — Promoting  Happiness — Conjugal  Attentions — Cultivating  Love 
— Remedy  for  Discords  —  Consecration,  Each  to  the  Other — Love's  Little 
Indulgences  —  Wives  and  Money  —  Expressing  Affection  —  Love  no  Longer 
Mentioned — Billing  and  Cooing — Manly  Husbands — Devoted  Wives — Animal 
Passion — First  Great  Business — Cold  Indifference — Reasons  of  Infidelity — 
Highest  Human  Duty — Contentment  Better  than  Dollars — Paralysis  of  the 
Affections— Starved  Hearts  .  55 


PART   II. 

THE    HUMAN    PELVIS    AND    ORGANS    OF 
GENERATION. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
STRUCTURE  OF  THE  PELVIS. 

Meaning  of  the  Term  Pelvis — Natural  Form  and  Dimensions — The  Brim — Trie 
Cavity — Position  in  Regard  to  the  Trunk  of  the  Body — How  the  Womb  is  Sup- 
ported— Separation  of  Bones  During  Childbirth — Loosening  of  Ligaments — 
Male  and  Female  Pelvis  Compared — Bones  of  the  Male  Harder  Than  in  the 
Female— Deformities  of  the  Pelvis— How  Distortions  are  Produced  ...  65 

CHAPTER  VII. 
GENITAL  ORGANS  OF  THE  FEMALE. 

The  Mons  Veneris — The  Labia,  or  Lips — The  Vulva — The  Clitoris — The  Nymphse— 
Vagina,  or  Canal  Extending  to  the  Uterus— The  Sphincter— The  Hymen  and 


CONTENTS.  vit 

its  Situation— Uterus,  or  Womb— Fallopian  Tubes— Mouth  of  the  Uterus^ - 
Internal  Cavity — Mucous  Membrane — Arteries,  Veins  and  Nerves — The  Liga- 
ments— Structure  of  the  Ovaries — Ovasacs,  or  Graafian  Vesicles — Vesicles  in 
the  Foetus — Nerves  of  the  Ovaries 71 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MENSTRUATION. 

A  Subject  of  Great  Importance — Girl  and  Woman — Evils  of  Too  Early  Marriage- 
Feeble  Parents  and  Feeble  Children — Duration  of  Monthly  Period — Period  of 
Puberty — Very  Young  Mothers — Close  of  the  Menstrual  Function — Some 
Remarkable  Facts — Nature  of  the  Menstrual  Discharge— Suppressed  by  Preg- 
nancy— Effects  of  Nursing — An  Evil  Practice — Poverty  of  Blood — Regularity 
Important — Effects  of  Dissipation — "Change  of  Life" — Profuse  Discharges — 
Nervous  Symptoms — Flushes  of  Heat — Bleeding  at  the  Nose — Hysteria — The 
Blessing  of  Health  .  81 

CHAPTER   IX. 

CONCEPTION, 

The  Seminal  Animalcule — Body  and  Soul — Birth  and  Genius — Children  of  all 
Races  Resemble  their  Parents — Each  Parent  an  Agent — Testes  and  Ovaries — 
Zoosperms  or  Spermatozoa — How  Impregnation  Takes  Place — Vast  Numbers 
of  Zoosperms — Egg  of  the  Fowl — Most  Favorable  Period  for  Conception — 
How  the  Generative  Act  Should  be  Performed — When  Impregnation  is  Not 
Likely  to  Take  Place — Limiting  the  Number  of  Children — Prevention  of 
Conception 95 

CHAPTER   X. 
PREGNANCY. 

Cessation  of  Menses— Morning  Sickness— Pains  in  the  Breast— Quickening— Flut- 
tering Motions — Flatulence — Increase  in  Size — Emaciation — Heartburn — Mor- 
bid Longings — Excitability  of  Mind — Suitable  Clothing — Ablutions — Air  and 
Exercise — Evils  of  Indolence — Ventilation  and  Drainage — Horrid  Odors- 
Disinfectants — Pain  a  Warning — Hotbeds  of  Disease — Pure  Water — Benefits 
of  Rest — What  to  Eat — Spices  and  Condiments — Abuse  of  Stimulants — Rest- 
lessness and  Sleep 106 

CHAPTER  XL 
THE  HUMAN  OVUM,  OR  EGG. 

Birth  of  Plants — How  Animalcules  are  Formed — Amazing  Number  of  Eggs  in 
Fishes — Spontaneous  Generation  a  Myth— Ovaries  of  the  Human  Female— 


VAi  CONTENTS. 

Seminal  Fluid  of  the  Male — Reception  of  the  Ovum  b}'  the  Uterus — The 
Germinal  Centre — Anatomy  of  the  Testes — Evolution  of  Spermatozoa — Result 
of  Impregnation — ' '  The  Turn  of  Life ' ' — Remarkable  Changes  at  Puberty — 
Woman's  Organization  Finer  than  that  of  Man — Peculiarities  and  Mission  of 
Woman 128 

CHAPTER   XII. 
EMBRYOLOGY,  OR  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  FCETUS. 

Order  of  Growth — Vital  Point  of  the  Egg — Ovum  Protected  by  Membranes — 
Resemblance  to  the  Egg  of  the  Fowl — Rapid  Changes  of  the  Germ — Sizes  of 
the  Ovum  at  Different  Periods — Formation  of  Bone  and  Muscle — Growth  of 
the  Vital  Organs — How  the  Embryo  is  Nourished — Birth  of  More  than  One 
Child — Second  Canception — Period  of  Gestation — Pregnancy  Table — Number 
of  Days  to  be  Reckoned — From  What  to  Date  the  Count — Mistakes  in  Reckon- 
ing—The Sex  of  the  Child— Proportion  of  Boys  to  Girls 140 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
PARTURITION,  OR  LABOR. 

First  Symptoms  of  Labor — "Grinding  Pains" — Shivering  Sensations — Stomach 
Sickness — Bearing  Down  and  Cramps — Labor  a  Natural  Process — Forced 
Assistance  Dangerous — Use  of  Instruments — Average  Time  of  Labor — The 
After-Pains — Three  Stages  of  Labor — Directions  to  Nurses — Position  of  the 
Patient— Costiveness— Use  of  Chloroform— What  If  the  Doctor  Is  Absent?— 
Stillbirths,  and  How  to  Treat  Them— The  Afterbirth— Clothing  After  Labor- 
Rest  and  Refreshment  —  Bandaging — The  Sick-room  —  Attention  to  the 
Bladder — Treatment  for  the  Bowels — Ignorant  Nurses — Quietude  and  Em- 
ployment   160 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
MISCARRIAGE. 

The  Young  Wife — Miscarriage  Can  Generally  be  Prevented — Necessity  of  Judicious 
Advice — Penalties  of  Ignorance — Causes  of  Premature  Labor — Violence  of 
Every  Kind  to  be  Avoided — Threatening  Symptoms — Decided  Symptoms — 
Two  Stages — Time  of  Greatest  Danger — Flooding  Treatment  for  Miscarriage — 
Great  Care  Required — Sponge  and  Shower-baths — Separate  Sleeping  Apart- 
ments—Healthful Exercise 186 

CHAPTER  XV. 

LACTATION,  OR  NURSING. 

Maternal  Cares  and  Duties — Nursing  a  Pleasure  to  the  True  Mother — Nursing 
Natural  and  Healthy — Best  Food  for  the  Child — Ailments  of  the  Breasts — Milk- 
Fever — Gatherings — Care  of  the  Nipples — Outward  Applications — Stated  Times 


CONTENTS.  ix 

for  Nursing — Danger  of  Overfeeding — Clothing  for  the  Mother — What  the 
Nursing  Mother  Should  Bat — How  Food  and  Drink  Affect  the  Mother- - 
Variety  of  Diet  Recommended — Fits  of  Depression — Evils  of  Alcoholic  Drinks 
— Benefits  of  Exercise — An  Amiable  Temper — Keeping  Mind  and  Hands  Occu- 
pied— Work  a  Grand  Panacea — The  Menses  During  Nursing 194 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
WEANING  THE  CHILD. 

Best  Time  for  Weaning — Effects  of  Prolonged  Nursing — The  Mother's  Health  to  be 
Considered — Knock-kneed  and  Rickety  Children — Weaning  Gradually — Appli- 
cations for  the  Nipples — Aloes  and  Wormwood — Drying  up  the  Milk— Prepara- 
tions for  Reducing  Full  Breasts — Symptoms  Denoting  the  Necessity  of  Weaning 
— Delicate  Mothers — Return  of  the  Menses — Wet-Nurses — Inflammation  and 
How  to  Treat  It — Infectious  Diseases — Stimulants  to  be  Avoided  ....  212 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
AILMENTS  OF  THE  MAMMAE,  OR  BREASTS. 

Small  Nipples — Bad  Effects  of  Pressure  on  the  Breasts — Nipple-Shields,  and  How 
to  Use  Them — Best  Applications — Cracked  Nipples — Poor  Supply  of  Milk — 
Applying  Friction  to  the  Breasts — Gatherings,  and  How  Treated — Correct 
Position  in  Nursing — Sources  of  Inflammation — Sucking  an  Empty  Breast- 
Permanent  Injuries — Shivering  Fits — Fainting  Spells — Mother  Not  Strong 
Enough  for  the  Child — Aperients  During  Nursing — Virtues  of  Brown  Bread — 
Practice  of  Eating  Honey  and  Fruit  Jams — Use  df  Tea  and  Coffee — Evils  of 
Constantly  Dosing  with  Medicine 219 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 
DISEASES  PECULIAR  TO  WOMEN. 

Chlorosis,  or  Green  Sickness — Symptoms  and  Treatment — Suppression  of  the 
Menses — Promoting  the  General  Health — Fresh  Air  and  Exercise— Pleasant 
Recreation — Profuse  Menstruation — Causes  and  Treatment — Proper  Diet — Best 
Tonics — L-eucorrhoaa,  or  Whites — Indications  of  Inflammation  —  Baths  and 
Injections — Location  of  the  Disease — Falling  of  the  Womb — How  Caused — 
Remedies — Change  of  lyife — Peculiarities  of  the  Transition — Inflammation  of 
the  Breasts — Remedies  to  be  Employed — Heartburn,  Etc. — Constipation  of 
Pregnancy — Toothache  During  Pregnancy — Varicose  Veins— Urinary  Difficul- 
ties—Secretion of  Milk— Milk  Fever— Puerperal  Fever .232 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
PREGNANCY  EXTERNAL  TO  THE  WOMB. 

A  Rare  Occurrence — How  the  Ovum  is  Nourished — Causes  of  Such  Conception — 
Peculiarities  of  the  Cases — Obscure  Symptoms — General  Treatment — Appear- 


CONTENTS. 

ance  of  Inflammation — Bursting  of  the  Cyst — Relief  for  Pain — Opiates  and 
Cordials— Operation  for  Removal  of  Foetus— Successful  Treatment  of  this 
Peculiar  Form  of  Pregnancy 271 


PART   III 
CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF  CHILDREN. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

ABLUTION  AND  CLOTHING. 

Every  Child  Should  be  Its  Mother's  Care — The  Babe  a  "  Well-spring  of  Pleasure" 
— Directions  for  Bathing — Prevention  of  Colds — Skin  Eruptions — Free  Use  of 
Water — Cleanliness  and  Health — Treatment  for  Chafings— Bad  Effects  of 
Soda  in  the  Laundry— Proper  Time  for  Bathing  the  Infant— The  Flannel 
Apron — Clothing — Material  for  the  Belly-band — Light  Dressing — Warmth  a 
First  Requisite — Danger  of  Convulsions — How  Clothes  Should  be  Fastened — 
Keeping  the  Head  Cool— Clothing  for  Winter 277 

CHAPTER    XXI. 
DIET  FOR  THE  INFANT. 

Away  with  Gruel— When  the  Tongue  is  Tied— First  Food  for  the  Infant— Both 
Breasts  to  be  Drawn  Alike — Too  Frequent  Nursing — Artificial  Food — A  Simple 
Preparation — Foods  of  Various  Kinds — Baked  Flour — Bread  Crumbs — Oatmeal 
— Pulp  of  Rice — Foods  Containing  Starch — Arrow- root — New  Milk — When  to 
Give  Farinaceous  Food — How  Digestion  is  Aided — Salt  and  Sugar — Weak 
Mothers— No  Real  Substitute  for  Mother's  Milk— Nursing  and  the  Mother's 
Health — Care  of  the  Feeding-bottle — Flatulence — Time  for  Weaning — Gin  and 
Peppermint— Diet  Versus  Physic 287 

CHAPTER   XXII. 
TEETHING. 

Infants  Sometimes  Born  with  Teeth — Proper  Time  for  Teething  to  Commence— 
Length  of  Time  in  Cutting — Lancing  the  Gums— Mode  of  Operation — Infantile 
Convulsions — Gums  Injured  by  Various  Substances — Rubber  and  Leather 
Rings — Sucking  the  Thumb — Diet  of  Fruit — Ailments  During  Teething — Pain- 
ful Dentition — Mild  Form — Treatment  Recommended — The  Tepid  Bath — Re- 
laxed Bowels— The  ' '  Tooth-cough  "—Disastrous  Effects  of  Opiates— Laudanum 
and  Paregoric — Swollen  Gums — Pain  and  Inflammation — Skin  Blotches — 
Second  Teeth— Parental  Neglect 303 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
DISEASES  OF  CHILDREN. 

Inflammation  of  the  Eyes — Hiccough  and  its  Treatment — Snuffles,  or  Cold  in  the 
Head— Remedies  for  Cold— Colic,  and  What  to  Do  for  It— Rules  for  Diet— In- 
digestion and  Vomiting — Flatulence — Milk-crust,  or  Scabs — Thrush,  and  How 
to  Overcome  It — Costiveness — Diarrhoea — Cholera  Infantum — A  Dangerous 
Ailment — Full  list  of  Remedies  for  Summer  Complaint — Alarming  Symptoms 
— Stupor  and  Convulsions — Standard  Treatment — Asthma — Result  of  Cold — 
Importance  of  Prompt  Relief— Vaccination — Transmission  of  Disease — Vacci- 
nation Should  be  Repeated  ....'•'  312 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 
How  TO  PREVENT  DISEASE. 

Unhealthy  Boys  and  Girls — The  Overworked  Brain — Tendency  to  Scrofula — Pre- 
ventive Measures — Building  Up  the  System — Girls  Who  Stoop — Curvature  of 
the  Spine — Treatment  for  Spinal  Affections — Games  of  Sport  for  Young  Ladies 
— Consumption — Blood-spitting — Causes  and  Remedies — Poor  Diet — Treatment 
for  Sore  Throat — Evil  Effects  of  Tobacco — Bleeding  from  the  Nose — Fainting 
— Costiveness — Too  Much  Medicine — Appeal  to  American  Mothers — Pimples 
on  the  Face — Gum-boils— How  to  Cure  Corns — How  to  Destroy  Warts — Deli- 
cate Young  Ladies — Bodily  Improvement  among  American  Girls  ....  33J 


PART   IV. 
FEMALE  BEAUTY  AND  ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXV. 
PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

A  Subject  of  Universal  Interest — Looking  Only  to  Immediate  Effect — How  to 
Assist  Nature — Fashionable  Ignorance — Nostrums  and  Quack  Cosmetics — 
Evening  Dissipation — Exposure  of  Health — A  Simple  Toilet  the  Best — Harmful 
Dress — Barbarous  Decorations — Conditions  on  which  Personal  Beauty  Depends 
— Neglect  of  Mind  and  Body — Cleanliness — Temperance  in  All  Things — Turn- 
ing Night  into  Day— Abuse  of  Digestion— Sickly  Paleness— How  Female 
Loveliness  is  Lost — Delicate  Women — Painted  Simpletons — Derangement  of 
the  Pulse— Hygiene  of  the  Greeks 351 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

BATHING  FOR  HEALTH  AND  BEAUTY. 

Beauty  a  Thing  to  be  Prized — Personal  Cleanliness — Vast  Influence  of  Soap  and 
Water — Choked  Perspiration — Secretions  of  Skin  and  Teeth — Contagious 
Poisons — Fruitful  Sources  of  Ill-health — Impoverished  Blood — The  Tepid 
Bath — Ablutions  Among  Jews  and  Mohammedans — Dirt  and  Disease — Com- 
mon Neglect  of  Bathing — Bath-houses  in  Europe — The  Jolly  Frenchman — 
Sea-bathing — Directions  for  Using  the  Warm  Bath — Right  Temperatures  of 
the  Water— Exercise  and  Beauty 363 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

3EAUTIFUL   SKIN   AND    COMPLEXION. 

A.  Garment  of  Surpassing  Loveliness — Structure  of  the  Skin — Pores  for  Perspira- 
tion—Absorbent Vessels— How  to  Beautify  the  Skin— Effect  of  Heat  and 
Cold — Ablution — Anointing — Recipes  for  Skin  Washes — Effect  of  Sunlight — 
Benefits  of  Friction — Flesh-gloves — Diseases  of  the  Skin — Black  Spots  and 
Marks — Boils — Blueness  and  Discoloration — Dandruff — Pimples — Itch — Scaly 
Eruptions — Treatment  for  Skin  Ailments  —  Freckles — Moles — Paleness — 
Roughness — Redness — Scurf  and  Scurvy — Pits  from  Small-pox — Wrinkles — 
Abrasions — Bruises — Burns  and  Scalds — Cuts  and  Incised  Wounds — Excoria- 
tions— Frost-bites — Scars 373 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 
THE  HAIR,  AND  How  TO  ARRANGE  IT. 

An  Unrivalled  Ornament — Hair  of  the  Orientals — Premature  Decay — Effect  of 
Mental  Emotions — Physical  Structure— Hair-bulbs  and  Tubes — Chemical  Con- 
stitution— Biography  of  a  Hair — Necessity  of  General  Health — Best  Manage- 
ment—  Use  of  Comb  and  Brush  —  Curl-papers  —  Crisping-tongs  —  Friction — 
Two  Methods  of  Dressing — Objections  to  Artificial  Styles — Cleansing  the 
Scalp — Natural  Arrangement  of  the  Hair — Cutting  and  Clipping — A  Dirty 
Habit— Luxuriant  Growth— Curliness  and  Waviness— Fixing  the  Hair  in 
Position 393 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

RESTORATION  OF  THE  HAIR. 

Early  Decay— Cold  Water  and  Friction— Stimulating  Applications— Restoring  the 
Health  of  the  Scalp— Baldness— The  Hair  Affected  by  Old  Age— Other  Causes 
— Thick  Hats — Frequent,  Close  Cutting — Spanish  Flies  or  Cantharides — Oils 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

and  Pomades — Electricity — Diet  and  Regular  Habits — Tonics — Gray  Hairs, 
and  How  to  Treat  Them — Morbid  Dryness  of  the  Hair — Use  of  Glycerine — 
Matting  and  Felting — Excessive  Scurfiness — Rosemary  and  Thyme — Caution 
Against  Quack  Remedies — How  Superfluous  Hairs  are  Destroyed — Cleansing 
the  Partings — Borax  and  Ammonia 411 

CHAPTER   XXX. 
BEAUTY  OF  FACE  AND  FEATURES. 

Harmony  and  Right  Proportion — The  Forehead — Skin  Eruptions — The  Eyes — 
Most  Expressive  Feature — How  to  Treat  the  Eyes — Belladonna — Dimness  of 
Age—Remedies  for  Discoloration — Effects  of  Dust  and  Dirt — Eyelashes  and 
Eyebrows — The  Nose — How  to  Mould  and  Beautify  the  Nose — Human  Mouth 
and  Lips — Chapped  Lips — The  Teeth — What  Injures  the  Teeth — Tooth-pow- 
ders and  Use  of  the  Brush — Use  of  Charcoal — The  Ears — Wearing  Ear-rings — 
Chin  and  Throat— Neck  of  Beauty 420 


PART  V. 
POLITENESS;  OR,  WOMAN  IN  SOCIETY. 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 
TASTEFUL  AND  BECOMING  DRESS. 

Every  Lady  £, uld  Pay  Attention  to  Dress — Fitness — Subordinate  to  the  Person 

— Suited  to  Different  Seasons — Graceful  Curves — Hints  on  Colors — Variety  ii"1 
Costume — Dressing  the  Hair — The  Parasol — Bonnets — "  Nut-brown  Maids" — 
Use  of  Veils — Dress  for  the  Neck — Sore  Throats — Sudden  Changes  of  Covering 
— Wearing  Ornaments — Vulgarity  of  Too  Much  Jewelry 434 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

DEPORTMENT  AND  MANNERS. 

Importance  of  Good  Behavior — Beauty  Marred  by  Lack  of  Grace — Carriage  of  the 
Body  Reveals  Character — Absence  of  Affectation — Self-possession — A  Graceful 
Walk — The  Soldier's  Drill — Avoiding  Offensive  Habits — Disorderly  Costume — 
Coarse  Eating  and  Drinking — Disagreeable  Noises — Love  to  Others — Promot- 
ing Universal  Happiness — Selfishness — Right  of  Privacy — Casual  Acquaint- 
ances— Haughtiness  and  Pride — Anger — Rudeness — Cheerful  Demeanor — 
Drones  and  Workers — Empty  Ornaments — Keeping  Engagements — Diffusing 
Good  Cheer  .  .  445 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 
THE  SOCIAL  QUEEN. 

Qualifications  for  Good  Society — Value  of  Birth  and  Breeding — Honor  to  Ladies- 
Mistress  of  the  House — Introductions — Salutations — Rudeness  to  Others — 
Polite  Attentions— The  Sexes  Should  Go  Together— Variety  of  Ages— Perfect 
Equality — The  Industrious  Woman— Agreeable  Companions — Taste  and  Re- 
finement— Woman's  Mission  is  to  Adorn — Rules  of  Etiquette — Simplicity  in 
Behavior — Little  Observances — Receptions — Making  Calls — Use  of  Cards- 
Taking  Leave  of  the  Host — Punctuality — "Doing  in  Rome  as  Romans 
Do" 458 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 
THE  ART  OF  CONVERSING  WELL. 

Value  of  Good  Talk — Conversation  of  Animals — All  Can  Have  Something  to  Say 
— The  Good  Listener — Guiding  the  Conversation — Regard  to  Rights  and 
Opinions  of  Others — Making  Others  Talk — Topics  that  are  of  Mutual  Interest 
— Wit  and  Humor — Anecdotes — Talk  at  Table — Sense  and  Knowledge — Prosy 
People — Hobbies — Slang — Egotism  and  Boasting — Pet  Phrases — Long-winded 
Talkers — Impolite  Questions — Giving  Attention — Avoiding  Discussions — Pay- 
ing Compliments — Moral  Character c  0 473 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

MISCELLANEOUS  RULES  OF  ETIQUETTE. 

Rights  of  the  Sidewalk — Meeting  on  the  Street — Washington's  Politeness — The 
Veil — Street  Recognition — Behavior  in  Church — Punctuality — Reverent  De- 
meanor— The  Tardy — The  Talkative  and  Restless — Expressing  Approval — 
How  to  Treat  "Company" — Gallantry — Politeness  at  Home — The  Hoiden — 
The  Prude — Indoor  Recreations — Undue  Familiarity — Courtesy  to  Stran- 
gers— Formal  Calls — Social  Visits  and  Entertainments — Simpering  and  Friv- 
olity   .' 492 


PART  I. 

LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE. 

CHAPTER  I. 
THE  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  MARRIED  LIFE. 

Love,  the  Source  of  Happiness  or  Misery — Woman's  Place  in  Mohammed 'e 
Paradise — Marriage  an  Ordinance  of  Heaven — Parents  Stamp  their  Char- 
acteristics on  their  Children — Nature's  Time  for  Marrying — Well  Developed 
Mind  and  Body — Evil  Habits — Self- Government  and  Discipline — Industry 
and  Thrift — Young  Ladies  and  the  Fashions — Domestic  Duties — Value  of  Self- 
Reliance — Lamentable  Ignorance — Hereditary  Influence — Marriage  Means 
Parentage — L,awful  Pride  in  Fine  Offspring. 

NO  emotion  in  the  human  breast  is  more  powerful  than  that  of 
love.     None  is  more  productive  of  happiness  when   rightly 
controlled  and    directed.     When    allowed    to    run    wild    and 
override  all  reason  and  restraint,  none  is  so  fruitful  of  misery.      Love 
is  the  law  of  heaven  and  earth.     It  makes  nfe  a  blessing  or  a  curse. 
Milton  in  one  of  his  loftiest  poetic  flights  exclaims : 

Haii  wedded  love,  mysterious  law,  true  source 
Of  human  offspring. 

Mohammed  acted  with  unusual  sagacity,  displayed  no  ordinary 
understanding  of  human  nature,  and  adopted  effectual  means  for  the 
accomplishment  of  his  cherished  object,  when,  to  secure  converts 
to  his  new  religion,  he  promised  that  the  eternal  abode  of  the  faithful 
should  be  made  joyful,  and  lighted  up  with  the  charms  and  smiles  of 
Woman  !  This  was  an  appeal  to  one  of  the  strongest  passions  of  our 
nature,  and  proved  effectual  in  securing  the  attention  of  the  stronger 
sex;  and,  in  that  age,  this  object  achieved,  secured  the  influence  and 
commendation  of  the  gentler  and  more  refined  half  of  our  race. 

From  the  earliest  time,  and  among  all  nations,  whether  shrouded 
in  Pagan  darkness  or  enjoying  the  pure  and  elevating  influence  of 
Christianity ;  among  those  who  treat  the  female  sex  like  slaves  and 
2  17 


18  QUALIFICATIONS   FOR   MARRIAGE. 

beasts  of  burden,  and  those  who  recognize  her  as  entitled  to  an  equal 
rank  with  man,  companionship  between  the  sexes  has  ever  been  found 
to  be  the  strongest  desire  of  our  race.  It  is  not  peculiar  to  either  sex, 
but  is  cherished  in  common  by  both. 

This  is  an  ordinance  of  Heaven,  none  can  deny.  And  the  origin 
of  the  institution  of  matrimony  might  convince  the  skeptic  of  his  error; 
for  the  only  volume  which  gives  an  authentic  early  history  of  our  race, 
declares  in  the  outset,  that  in  our  creation,  the  distinction  of  sex  was 
ordered  as  a  contribution  to  our  enjoyment,  and  that  therefrom 
should  follow  perpetual  companionship.  "And  the  Lord  God  said,  it 
is  not  good  that  man  should  be  alone :  I  will  make  him  an  helpmeet 
for  him."  And  after  He  had  created  woman,  and  given  her  to  Adam 
to  be  his  wife,  Adam  acknowledged  the  precious  gift  with  the  pro- 
foundest  gratitude.  He  said  of  her,  "  This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones 
and  flesh  of  my  flesh ; "  and  the  sacred  volume  adds,  "  Therefore 
shall  a  man  leave  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife ; 
and  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh" 

Love  and    Marriage  are  Natural. 

Marriage  is  also  sanctioned  by  the  very  laws  of  our  being.  It  is 
just  as  natural  to  love  and  marry  as  it  is  to  breathe.  The  world  loves ; 
the  world  marries.  Misery,  you  say,  grows  out  of  married  life  ;  so 
does  the  purest,  deepest  enjoyment.  The  misery  is  nothing  against 
marriage  itself,  but  against  wrong,  hasty,  foolish  marriages.  These 
every  mother,  every  father,  should  guard  against,  yes,  and  young 
people  themselves. 

We  cannot  be  too  well  acquainted  with  those  qualifications  and 
organizations  capable  of  transmitting  the  qualities  which  we  most 
desire  in  our  children.  As  perfect  children  are  the  most  valued  and 
beloved,  as  the  laws  of  reproduction  are  unchangeable ;  and  as  per- 
fection is  only  in  proportion  to  obedience  to  these  laws,  in  order  to 
secure  our  highest  wishes,  we  see  the  almost  imperious  necessity 
of  our  not  only  understanding,  but  complying  with  these  require- 
ments of  nature. 


QUALIFICATIONS   FOR   MARRIAGE.  23 

hereditary  descent,  parents  generate  the  same  evil  propensities  in  their 
offspring,  and  thus  perpetuate  them,  from  generation  to  generation  ; 
so  that  from  one  degraded  and  miserable  slave  to  vice,  hundreds  and 
thousands  are  ruined.  So  far  are  such  persons  from  being  qualified 
for  the  high  responsibilities  of  the  marriage  duties,  they  are  a  curse  to 
any  community  ;  for  their  influence  upon  others,  be  it  ever  so  little,  is 
all  evil,  and  that  continually. 

Preparation  for  Married  Life. 

That  an  education  which  will  fit  persons  for  domestic  duties,  is  as 
necessary  as  it  is  for  any  other  department  of  life,  is  self-evident ;  yet, 
such  an  education  is  by  many  almost  entirely  neglected,  and  by  a 
vast  majority  too  much  so.  Although  the  marriage  state  is  one 
which  is  designed  for  wise  and  important  purposes,  and  by  the  fulfil- 
ment of  which  man  gratifies  some  of  the  strongest  desires  of  the 
human  mind,  yet,  as  a  general  thing,  we  are  as  poorly  qualified  for 
it  by  mental  training  and  information  as  for  any  other  condition  in 
which  we  may  be  accidentally  placed.  We  use  double  the  means  to 
obtain  the  object  that  we  do  to  qualify  ourselves  for  enjoying  it  when 
obtained. 

When  we  speak  of  education  as  being  adapted  to  the  social  depart- 
ment, we  have  special  reference  to  a  well  disciplined  mind,  to  an 
experimental  acquaintance  with  domestic  labor,  and  a  familiar  knowl- 
edge of  household  matters  and  duties  ;  young  women  should  be  able 
to  sympathize  with  those  engaged  in  domestic  affairs,  by  an  indi- 
vidual experience  in  the  same  matters. 

Every  Girl  Should  be  Independent. 

Every  young  lady,  whether  she  be  rich  or  poor,  especially  if  she 
anticipates  marriage,  should  be  as  familiar  with  the  necessary  duties 
of  the  family,  as  she  is  with  the  keys  of  her  piano  ;  and  much  more 
than  with  the  fashionable  acquirements  of  the  day ;  for  none  can  fill 
the  sphere  of  a  companion  and  parent,  until  they  are  intimate  with 
household  labors,  are  capable  of  arranging  family  matters,  and  supply- 


CHAPTER  II. 
ADVICE  TO  THE  UNMARRIED. 

Marrying  to  Please  Others— Stigma  of  "  Old  Maid,"  or  "  Old  Bachelor  "—Sound 
Judgment  Needed — "Petticoat  Government" — Both  Parties  Should  Do  the 
Courting — Flirting  as  a  Pastime — Fashion  and  Domestic  Duties — How  Ro- 
mance Disappears — Dram-Drinking  Husbands — Marrying  for  Money — Long 
Courtships — Temperaments  That  are  Too  Much  Alike — Like  Parents,  Like 
Children — Prowling  Fortune-Hunters — Marrying  Out  of  Your  Natural 
Sphere — Evils  of  Coquettery  —  Defective  Education — Exciting  Unhealthy 
Passions — Harmonious  Development  of  the  Whole  Woman. 

TO  one  and  all  we  would  say,  do  not  marry  unless  you  love,  and 
do  not  love  unless  guided  by  reason  and  judgment.     Do  not 
marry  contrary  to  your  own  judgment  and  inclination,  merely 
to  please  your  friends  ;  for  this   reflection   does  not  bring   domestic 
peace  when  you  find  that  you  are  confined  to  one  not  at  all  congenial 
to  your  feelings  :  your  happiness,  in  married  life,  will  depend  on  your 
union,  and  not  how  it  was  brought  about. 

Being  so  very  accommodating  as  to  give  your  hand  and  virtue  to  a 
man  without  your  love,  because  you  cannot  bear  to  see  him  weep 
when  refused  ;  or  because  you  are  afraid  of  hurting  his  feelings,  if  you 
refuse  him,  is  a  spirit  that  should  not  be  recognized  among  human 
beings  where  their  own  welfare  and  that  of  posterity  depend  on  a 
different  course  of  conduct. 

"A  Crooked  Stick  At  Last." 

Do  not  marry  then  in  any  case  to  avoid  importunities  and  puer- 
ilities, or  to  save  the  tears  and  feelings  of  others  ;  as  selfishness,  if  it 
can  be  so  called,  or  rather  self-love,  is  justifiable  in  this  case. 

Do  not  marry   because  you  think  it  is  the  last  opportunity.     To 

refuse  good  offers  in  hope  of  obtaining  those  more  eligible,  and  then 

through   fear  of  living  in   single  blessedness,  to  accept  because  you 

think  you  will  have  the  "  crooked  stick  at  last,"  is  like  a  man  grasp- 

26 


ADVICE   TO   THE   UNMARRIED.  27 

ing  a  straw  to  save  himself  from  going  over  the  dam.  Never  marry  to 
get  rid  of  the  stigma  of  being  called  an  old  maid,  or  an  old  bachelor. 

It  is  an  honor  and  a  credit  to  many,  that  they  have  had  prudence 
and  sense  of  duty  sufficient  to  control  their  feelings,  and  to  enable 
them  to  remain  single. 

Many,  by  not  consulting  their  organization  and  qualifications  for 
married  life,  have  brought  great  evils  on  themselves  and  also  on  pos- 
terity, simply  to  show  the  world  that  they  can  marry,  and  thus  remove 
the  reproaches  (that  many  fling)  of  a  single  life. 

Desperately  Anxious  to  Get  a  Husband. 

Said  a  certain  lady,  "  I  would  not  live  single  if  I  had  to  marry  the 
greatest  *  roue  '  in  the  city."  That  was  weakness  and  folly. 

In  this  all-important  step,  which  has  to  do  with  your  own  individual 
happiness  particularly,  allow  your  friends  and  enemies  to  give  you 
facts,  and  be  thankful  for  them,  but  think  for  yourself;  exercise  your 
own  judgment  independently.  By  judgment  we  do  not  mean  the 
calculations  of  mere  intellect,  but  the  whole  mind,  embracing  the 
feelings,  the  sentiments,  and  propensities.  When  the  consent  of  all 
these  faculties  of  the  mind  has  been  obtained,  then  it  is  certain  you 
are  under  a  moral  obligation  to  marry,  regardless  of  opposition. 

Do  not  marry  with  the  determination  to  rule  or  not  to  be  ruled. 
Scarcely  anything  appears  more  foolish  than  this  absurd  feeling  of 
"  I  am  not  to  be  dictated  to,"  "  I  will  have  my  own  way,"  "  I  shall 
not  sign  away  my  liberty,  I  can  tell  you,"  etc. — the  lady  afraid  to 
yield,  for  fear  complete  submission  will  be  the  result ;  the  husband, 
from  dread  of  appearing  to  be  under  "  petticoat  government." 

Domestic  Enjoyment  Destroyed. 

A  civil  war  of  this  kind  puts  to  flight,  most  effectually,  all  hope  of 
domestic  enjoyment.  It  is,  invariably,  the  growth  of  foolish  pride 
and  morbid,  little  independence,  as  far  removed  from  real  dignity  as 
light  from  darkness — oftentimes  exhibited  before  marriage  in  persist- 
ing in  certain  actions  or  habits  when  their  suspension  is  desired. 


SO  ADVICE    TO    THE    UNMARRIED. 

knowledge  of  the  debasing  influences  of  ardent  spirits,  the  foul  and 
demoniac  crimes  which  have  been  committed  under  the  auspices  of 
drunkenness,  view  the  attentions  of  persons  under  this  animal  excite- 
ment as  an  insult  of  the  blackest  kind. 

Errors  to  be  Avoided. 

If  you  are  very  poor,  do  not  marry  a  person  very  wealthy,  merely 
on  account  of  his  or  her  wealth,  unless  you  wish  to  act  the  part  of  a 
servant,  and  to  live  with  the  continued  reflection  that  you  are  eating 
another's  bread  and  riding  in  another's  carriage. 

If  you  have  insane  or  consumptive  tendencies  of  body,  do  not  marry 
one  who  has  the  same,  unless  you  wish  to  bring  upon  yourself,  your 
family,  and  posterity,  all  the  evils  of  hereditary  disease. 

Do  not  be  so  long  in  courting  as  to  change  your  mind,  or  so  quick 
as  to  be  rash,  or  ignorant  of  the  character  you  have  chosen.  If  you 
have  no  love  in  your  soul,  do  not  marry  unless  it  is  with  one  of  a 
similar  disposition. 

If  your  mental  or  physical  organization  is  extremely  susceptible  to 
impressions,  do  not  marry  one  of  the  same  extreme  or  of  the  opposite 
order.  There  should  be  a  tendency  to  the  medium  line  ;  if  an  organ, 
or  function  is  very  large  in  one,  then  it  should  be  less  in  the  other,  so 
as  to  have  a  restraining  influence ;  yet,  it  should  not  be  so  small  as  to 
be  disgusted  with  the  extravagant  manifestation  of  it.  If  one  has  an 
organ  very  small,  the  other  should  have  it  a  little  larger,  so  that  it 
may  not  be  deficient  in  the  family  ;  and  also  that  it  may  serve  as  a 
stimulus  for  the  one  in  whom  it  is  weak. 

Variety  is  Desirable. 

A  long  article  might  be  written  on  this  subject,  and  a  detailed 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  each  of  the  developments  should 
rank,  might  be  mentioned  ;  but  that  is  not  necessary,  as  the  subject 
addresses  itself  to  the  common  sense  of  every  one. 

Variety  is  at  times  agreeable  and  even  desirable ;  yet  extremes  in 
any  of  the  arrangements  of  nature,  or  in  two  separately  organized 


ADVICE   TO    THE   UNMARRIED.  31 

bodies,  scarcely  ever  harmonize  in  action  or  in  that  adaptation  neces- 
sary to  produce  uniform  results. 

A  gentleman,  who  thought  he  understood  human  nature  very  well, 
the  motives  of  action,  etc.,  had  very  small  acquisitiveness,  and,  in  his 
selecting  a  wife,  looked  for  one  with  the  organ  large  ;  but,  when  they 
were  united,  this  was  the  source  of  trouble  and  contention ;  for,  she 
took  all  his  earnings,  and  was  unwilling  that  he  should  expend  a  single 
cent  beyond  his  actual  necessities.  This  state  of  feeling  increased  to 
such  a  degree  that  he  separated  from  her,  and  now  lives  alone  in  the 
world,  unhappy  and  desolate,  convinced  that  extremes  do  not  always 
produce  happiness. 

This  law  of  harmony  and  balance  should  be  recognized,  not  only 
for  the  convenience  of  the  parties  concerned,  but  for  the  sake  of 
posterity. 

What  Kind  of  Children  Will  You  Have? 

The  organization  of  children  depends  on  two  things ;  first,  the 
organization  of  the  parents  ;  and  secondly,  the  influence  of  circum- 
stances on  the  minds  and  activity  of  the  various  faculties  and  functions 
of  those  parents  before  conception,  and  particularly  afterward  on  the 
part  of  the  mother. 

If,  then,  both  parents  have  the  same  function  very  large  or  very 
small,  the  child  must  necessarily  partake  of  that  extreme,  unless  a 
change  is  produced  by  the  force  of  circumstances.  If  both  parents 
are  idiots,  the  child  will  be  idiotic.  If  very  nervous  or  consumptive, 
the  children  will  be  so  disposed.  If  conscientiousness,  firmness,  self- 
esteem,  or  any  other  organ  is  very  small  in  the  parents,  they  will  be 
so  in  the  child,  unless  it  is  rendered  large  by  the  great  activity  of 
these  faculties  in  the  parents.  If  cautiousness,  secretiveness,  destruc- 
tiveness,  amativeness,  or  any  of  the  animal  propensities  are  very  large 
and  active  in  the  parents,  they  will  be  manifest  in  the  children. 

If  you  are  very  rich,  select  your  companions  yourself,  instead  of 
permitting  another  to  choose  for  you ;  so  that  you  may  not  be 
troubled  with  the  reflection  that  you  were  selected  for  your  wealili, 


ADVICE   TO   THE   UNMARRIED.  33 

tion  of  the  body,  any  one  favorable  or  flattering  remark,  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  moment,  or  the  excitement  of  passion  to  balance  all  other 
considerations — thus  bringing  about  a  partial  union,  and  securing  the 
possibility  only  of  imperfect  happiness. 

Acting  from  the  Highest  Motives. 

Those  individuals  who  are  governed  by  selfish  motives  in  these 
matters,  will  resort  to  dishonest  and  improper  means  to  accomplish 
their  object.  They  have  not  a  sufficient  amount  of  conscience  or 
principle  to  regulate  and  control  them  :  the  consequence  of  which  is, 
there  can  be  no  confidence  placed  in  them  ;  they  are  liable  at  any  and 
all  times  to  go  or  be  led  astray,  and  are  especially  unfit  to  assume  the 
weighty  responsibilities  which  devolve  on  heads  of  families. 

Persons  of  this  character  should  be  resolutely  and  determinedly 
avoided.  From  the  existence  of  such  men  and  women  in  society,  can 
be  traced  the  origin  of  the  deception,  pretension,  falsehood,  flattery, 
assumed  piety,  strained  politeness  and  artificial  endeavors  to  entertain 
each  other  while  together,  which  may  be  denominated  the  reefs  and 
shoals  of  the  sea  of  matrimony. 

Trifling  with  Affections. 

Many  unprincipled  young  men  of  fortune,  leisure,  and  accomplish- 
ments in  our  cities,  spend  much  of  their  time  in  female  society,  using 
all  their  faculties  and  powers  of  pleasing  with  apparently  honest  inten- 
tions, labor  assiduously  to  secure  the  affections  of  young  ladies,  and 
afterward  make  their  dignified  and  lofty  boasts  of  how  many  beautiful 
and  charming  young  ladies  are  crazy  after  them,  even  if  they  do  not 
proceed  farther  and  trifle  with  their  affections  in  the  basest  manner. 
Such  men,  or  apologies  for  men,  deserve  to  be  branded  with  the 
blackest  marks  of  infamy,  the  most  indelible  sign  of  disgrace,  merit- 
ing nothing  but  obloquy  and  contempt. 

Young  women,  too  regardless  of  consequences,  sometimes  thought- 
lessly turn  coquettes,  present  their  charms  and  bright  attractions,  use 
their  best  endeavors,  exhibit  excessive  devotion  and  exclusive  affec- 
* 


36  ADVICE   TO   THE   UNMARRIED. 

the  utmost,  so  as  to  secure  health  of  body,  strength  of  constitution, 
and  the  power  of  becoming  parents  of  children,  not  characterized  by 
weakness  and  effeminacy. 

Exercise  the  mind,  the  whole  mind,  bearing  in  view  the  fact  that 
the  brain,  the  material  organ  of  the  mind,  is  capable  of  being  benefited 
by  regular  tasks,  and  of  being  injured  by  excesses,  precisely  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  body  can  be  weakened  by  any  over-action. 

Long  Life  and  Happiness. 

When  the  mental  and  physical  organization  of  man  is  properly 
understood,  and  the  laws  by  which  those  organizations  are  affected  are 
obeyed,  families  will  enjoy  uninterrupted  health,  long  life  and  uniform 
happiness. 

Man's  enjoyment  in  this  life  depends  more  on  the  proper  exercise 
of  the  social  feelings  and  their  gratification  in  the  domestic  relations, 
than  on  any  other  condition  in  life.  For  him  to  enter  upon  these 
duties,  and  assume  the  necessary  obligations  without  being  thoroughly 
qualified  and  prepared,  would  be  as  great  a  sin  and  violation  of  duty 
as  for  an  ignorant  man,  unacquainted  with  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  not  enlightened  by  grace,  to  attempt  to  teach  the  way  of 
salvation. 

We  should  change  our  situations  and  enter  into  the  matrimonial 
relations  solely  with  the  intention  of  becoming  more  happy  and  useful. 

It  should  be  looked  at,  reasoned  upon,  and  spoken  of,  as  an  honest 
and  most  important  business.  To  treat  serious  subjects  in  a  light, 
trifling,  nonsensical  manner,  is  quite  injurious,  and  should  be 
reprobated. 

We  should  do  it  with  an  eye  upon  our  mutual  and  individual  hap- 
piness, remembering  that  perfect  happiness  can  arise  only  from  the 
proper  adaptation  and  exercise  of  all  our  natural  powers,  socially, 
morally,  intellectually,  and  physically — consequently,  we  should  con- 
sult all  of  them,  and  gratify  as  many  as  possible.  And  above  all,  we 
should  do  it  with  the  reflection  that  from  three  to  six  generations  of 
our  descendants  will  be  directly  affected  by  the  choice  we  make. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
LOVE  AND  PARENTAGE. 

Courtship  the  Mere  Alphabet  of  Love  —  Glory  of  the  Wife  and  Mother  —  Sharing 
Common  Joys  and  Sorrows  —  Idolized  Children  —  Perfect  Love  and  Confidence 
in  Marriage  —  Animal  Love  and  Moral  Excellence  —  Wedlock's  Sacred  Bonds  — 
Physical  and  Mental  Sexuality  —  Development  of  Female  Charms  —  Blushing 
Maids  —  No  Necessity  for  Female  Beauty  to  Decline  —  Decay  of  Health  —  House- 
hold Drudgery  —  Bad  Diet  and  Habits  —  Diminution  of  Affection  in  Marriage- 
Uncongenial  Mates  —  Dying  Before  Your  Time. 


love  and  its  accompanying  charms  eventuate  in  mar- 
JL  riage,  yet  they  do  not  terminate  with  it.  As  its  ultimate  object 
is  the  propagation  of  the  race,  it  should  last  as  long  as  we  are 
capable  either  of  being  parents  or  exerting  an  influence  on  the  char- 
acter of  our  offspring  ;  in  other  words,  it  should  last  as  long  as  life. 
Its  waning  with  the  honeymoon  would  be  like  autumn  supervening 
directly  upon  spring  before  the  happy  pair  had  tasted  the  luxuries  of 
summer  or  feasted  upon  the  golden  fruits  of  autumn. 

Courtship  is  but  the  mere  alphabet  of  love  and  the  wedding  season 
its  first  lesson.  When  properly  placed,  love's  natural  tendency  is  to 
increase  with  years,  nor  ever  to  diminish  till  age  impairs  both  it  and 
all  our  other  faculties  together.  The  blushing  bride,  though  all  dis- 
solved in  the  melting  tenderness  of  gushing  affection,  does  not,  can- 
not, love  equally  with  the  middle-aged  wife,  or  even  the  declining 
matron.  She  has  not  yet  tasted  the  virtues  or  tasted  the  perfection 
of  her  beau  ideal. 

It  is  only  after  years  of  the  continual  interchange  of  reciprocated 
kindness  and  sentiments  between  husbands  and  wives  —  after  they  have 
ascended  together  the  hills  of  prosperity  and,  perhaps,  travelled  the 
vale  of  adversity  till  they  have  thoroughly  tried  each  other's  souls, 
and  called  forth  their  mutual  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  ;  perhaps  not  till 
they  have  watched  over  each  other  when  prostrate  by  sickness,  and 
4  49 


50  LOVE   AND   PARENTAGE. 

reciprocated  a  constant  succession  of  endearing  offices  of  kindness 
and  tokens  of  love — above  all,  not  till  they  have  become  parents 
together — that  they  can  be  completely  enamored  of  each  other ; 
because  it  is  her  maternal  relations  which  most  of  all  endear  the  wife 
to  her  husband,  besides  making  her  love  him  inexpressibly  the  more 
for  being  the  father  of  her  idolized  children. 

True  Love  Lasts  a  Lifetime. 

Perfect  love  also  requires  that  perfect  confidence  which  nothing  can 
establish  but  those  fullest  and  most  diversified  tests  which  married  life 
alone  can  furnish.  Mistaken  they  who  suppose  that  years  naturally 
weaken  love.  Animal  love  they  may  weaken  ;  but  that  blending  of 
soul,  that  love  of  moral  excellence  which  constitutes  love's  crowning 
perfection,  and  even  quintessence,  grows  slowly,  matures  gradually, 
and  reaches  its  zenith  only  after  the  fierce  fires  of  youthful  passion 
have  given  place  to  the  live  coals  of  mature  or  declining  age.  Matri 
mony  is  the  very  garden  and  paradise  of  love,  and,  therefore,  every 
way  calculated  constitutionally  to  strengthen  and  perfect  it,  and 
thereby  augment  its  every  charm  and  sweet. 

With  this  the  experience  of  few  may  coincide,  because  so  few 
husbands  and  wives  cordially  and  completely  love  each  other  ;  but, 
chosen  and  blessed  of  God  this  happy  few !  Yours  is  the  sweet  cup 
that  never  sates  ;  yours  the  dainty  luxury  that  never  cloys,  but  only 
increases  your  relish  while  it  feasts  your  souls  perpetually  on  its 
delicious  bounties  !  Ye  who  have  lived  affectionately  in  wedlock's 
sacred  bonds  for  a  score  or  so  of  years  can  bear  testimony  to  this. 
The  fact  that  the  experience  of  so  few  harmonizes  with  this  blessed 
reality,  only  shows  how  few  truly  love.  Ye,  then,  who  have  your  die 
yet  to  cast,  cast  it  in  view  of  this  principle. 

To  perceive  how  wedlock  continues  to  improve  the  agreeableness  of 
man  is  easy  ;  because  by  drinking  in  continually  those  softening, 
refining,  elevating,  and  enobling  influences  exerted  upon  him  perpetu- 
ally by  a  good  wife,  he  becomes  more  polished,  and  of  a  better 
disposition  day  by  day,  and  year  after  year,  till  all  his  powers  arc 


LOVE*  AND   PARENTAGE.  51 

bedimmed  by  age  or  eclipsed  by  death.     Much  more  is  this  true  of 
woman. 

Happy  wedlock  constitutionally  develops  both  that  physical  and 
mental  sexuality  which  imparts  these  finishing  touches  of  perfection 
to  her  grace  and  elegance  of  manner,  her  sweet  smiles,  fascinating 
looks,  exquisite  intonations,  beauty  of  expression,  and  which,  in  short, 
heightens  every  charm  and  perfection  of  the  female  character.  By 
imbuing  her  whole  soul  with  love  for  the  masculine  in  her  husband, 
because  it  so  indescriably  exalts  her  happiness,  it  makes  her  prize  his 
sex  in  proportion  as  she  loves  him  ;  and  this  arrays  her  in  all  her 
charms  as  a  means  of  rendering  herself  agreeable. 

The  Married  Woman. 

Nor  is  this  in  the  least  improper.  It  is  the  nature  and  highest 
happiness,  as  well  as  the  main  constituent  element  of  the  wife  and 
mother,  both  of  which  it  perfects.  Properly  to  know  man  in  the 
person  of  her  husband  develops  the  feminine,  and  thereby  augments 
every  female  charm  and  perfection,  because  it  calls  out  and  fulfils  her 
whole  nature.  But  the  maiden  has  exercised  only  a  part  of  her 
nature,  nor  that  the  most  important.  She  has  not  yet  fulfilled  its  great 
duty  and  destiny,  and  hence  she  is  below  the  wife  and  matron. 

Not  that  she  should  be  underrated,  but,  bashful  and  blushing,  she  • 
labors  under  perpetual  restraint,  which  marriage  removes.  Sweet, 
lovely,  is  the  blushing  maid  and  the  blooming  bride  ;  sweeter  still, 
more  lovely  far,  the  full-blown  matron.  Let  others  sip  the  nectar  oi 
female  loveliness  as  it  gushes  from  the  handsome  features,  lovely 
looks,  graceful  motions,  fascinating  smiles  and  enchanting  conversa- 
tion of  maiden  purity  and  undeveloped  love ;  but  let  us  commune 
with  married  woman.  Give  us  the  well-developed  wife  and  mother, 
whether  for  elegance  of  manners,  exquisite  tenderness  and  flexibility 
of  voice,  ease  and  propriety  commingled  with  freedom  of  conversa- 
tion and  those  practical  lessons  of  experimental  wisdom  which  flow 
perpetually  from  the  lips. 

We  admire  the  maiden,  but  we  almost  worship  the  matron,  and 


52  LOVE   AND   PARENTAGE. 

gather  more  information,  as  well  as  derive  more  pleasure,  from  an 
hour's  conversation  with  the  wife  of  forty  than  from  weeks  of  chit- 
chat with  the  simpering  belle  of  eighteen.  The  latter  is  only  just 
beginning  to  put  on  her  fair,  but  yet  immature,  forms  and  rich  colors, 
while  the  former  is  fully  ripened,  her  form  filled  out  and  perfected,  her 
colors  enriched  and  variegated  and  their  flavor  most  delicious — every 
element  being  completely  consummated. 

Marriage   and   Female    Beauty. 

But  the  opinion  prevails  almost  universally  that  married  life  neces- 
sarily diminishes  female  beauty.  The  fact  is  admitted.  Its  necessity 
is  questionable.  One  of  its  efficient  causes  consists  in  the  loss  of 
health  generally  consequent  on  marriage.  Both  the  exercise  and 
expression  of  love  and  all  its  charms  expend  that  vitality  which  health 
alone  imparts,  and  thereby  enfeebles  love  itself,  and  that  power  by 
which  alone  it  can  manifest  itself  and  its  charms,  besides  furrowing 
and  fading  the  cheek  of  beauty,  emaciating  the  form,  substituting  the 
frowns  and  scowls  consequent  on  pain  for  the  brisk  and  happy  expres- 
sion of  health — bedimming  the  otherwise  sparkling  eye  and  weaken- 
ing and  perverting  and  depraving  all  the  faculties. 

Hence  the  female  invalid  ceases  to  throw  that  interest,  animation, 
expressiveness,  soul,  into  her  looks,  action,  conversation,  etc.,  which 
health  would  enable  her  to  put  forth  and  impart,  while  disease,  by 
rendering  her  looks  more  or  less  haggard  and  ghastly,  and 
her  intonations  sorrowful  or  hackled,  makes  that  repulsive  which 
health  would  render  charming.  How  much  an  animated  walk,  or 
ride,  or  frolic  promotes  circulation,  heightens  color  and  expression, 
and  augments  the  whole  collection  of  woman's  charms,  simply  by 
rallying  those  animal  energies  which  manifest  both  her  love  and  her 
loveliness  ;  and  what  this  does  for  beauty  temporarily  health  does  per. 
manently. 

That  the  matrimonial,  and  especially  maternal,  relations  require  and 
consume  a  great  amount  of  those  vital  energies  is  a  fact  attested  by 
the  experience  and  observation  of  all  married  women,  maternal  duties 


CHAPTER  V. 
IMPORTANT  TRUTHS  FOR  THE  NEWLY  MARRIED. 

Self-Improvement — Promoting  Happiness — Conjugal  Attentions — Cultivating  Love 
— Remedy  for  Discords — Consecration,  Each  to  the  Other — Love's  Little 
Indulgences — Wives  and  Money — Expressing  Affection — Love  no  longer 
Mentioned — Billing  and  Cooing — Manly  Husbands — Devoted  Wives — Animal 
Passion — First  Great  Business — Cold  Indifference — Reasons  of  Infidelity — 
Highest  Human  Duty — Contentment  Better  than  Dollars — Paralysis  of  the 
Affections — Starved  Hearts. 

OTH  improve  yourselves.  Love  must  progress  ;  which  requires 
either  the  culture  or  discernment  of  new  lovable  qualities.  For 
your  own  and  each  other's  sakes  each  should  improve  daily. 
On  her  husband's  return  from  business  every  wife  should  show  some 
new  work  begun,  or  old  one  advanced  ;  a  new  piece  of  music  com- 
menced, or  prior  one  perfected  ;  some  new  head  work,  hand  work  or 
heart  work,  with  which  to  redelight  him  ;  while  he  must  be  able  to 
"report  progress  "  in  whatever  he  engages,  and  especially  in  himself. 
How  delightful  to  both  to  see  this  improvement  in  the  other  ;  how 
painful  their  decline  ? 

Personal  effort  is  its  great  instrumentality.  Passivity  forestalls  pro- 
gress. Only  active  participancy  can  avail.  Though  a  husband's 
praise  may  inspire  a  wife  to  effort,  yet  only  she  can  put  her  own  hands 
to  the  plough ;  and  so  of  him.  Each  can  tone  up  the  other's  will, 
out  "the  gods  help  only  those  who  help  themselves."  We  expect 
improvement  in  all  we  possess,  much  more  in  a  partner.  The  decline 
of  either  after  marriage  grossly  wrongs  the  other.  Begin  here  now 
£nd  redouble  the  other's  love  by  rendering  yourselves  daily  the  more 
lovable  and  worthy. 

Love  seeks  the  happiness  of  its  object  as  uniformly  as  water  its 
level  and  light  diffusion.  Kindness  accompanies  love  as  surely  as 
gravity  matter,  and  always  augments  it.  While  it  is  due  from  all  to 
all,  even  beasts,  and  doubly  between  the  sexes,  yet  love  augments  it 

55 


TRUTHS   FOR   THE   NEWLY   MARRIED.  57 

and  feelings  towards  each  other.  Love's  eyes,  lips,  hands  and  heart 
are  brimful  of  desire  to  make  each  other  just  as  happy  as  possible; 
always  saying,  "  Please  let  me  do  this  and  that  for  you."  Neither 
can  make  self  a  tithe  as  happy  as  each  can  the  other. 

Mutual  Happiness. 

A  loving  wife  can  render  her  husband,  and  he  her,  ten  times 
happier  than  either  can  possibly  render  themselves.  How  infinitely 
and  perfectly  adapted  are  all  the  details  of  the  conj  ugal  state  to  this 
promotion  of  the  other's  enjoyment,  and  thereby  their  own !  As 
"it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  receive,"  even  from  strangers,  how 
infinitely  more  so  to  and  from  one  beloved!  No  human  luxury  at  all 
equals  this. 

Happiness  is  the  natural  aliment  of  love.  That  of  each  is  in  the 
exact  ratio  of  the  happiness  conferred  by  the  other.  Hence,  exactly 
in  proportion  as  a  wife  renders  her  husband  happy,  does  she  thereby 
compel  him  to  love  her.  He  cannot  help  himself,  and  will  not  desire 
to,  but  is  "led  a  willing  captive."  Exactly  in  proportion  as  he 
renders  her  happy,  does  he  thereby  oblige  her  to  love  him  and  seek 
his  pleasure.  Every  thrill  either  occasions  the  other,  redoubles  the 
other's  love;  and  every  twinge  of  pain  either  gives  the  other, 
engenders  dislike. 

These  results  are  as  absolute  and  certain  as  those  of  gravity, 
because  equally  governed  by  a  first  natural  law.  Thus,  if  your  wife 
makes  you  happy  three,  or  five,  in  the  scale  of  seven,  she  thereby 
compels  you  to  love  her  three,  or  five ;  whereas,  if  she  makes  you 
miserable  three,  or  five,  she  thus  compels  you  to  hate  her  three,  or 
five.  Or  if  she  makes  you  happy  five,  but  miserable  three,  you  love 
her  five,  but  hate  her  three ;  whereas,  if  she  renders  you  happy  three, 
but  miserable  five,  she  obliges  you  to  hate  her  five,  but  love  her 
only  three. 

So  she  who  makes  husband  perfectly  miserable,  without  any  happi- 
ness, engenders  perfect  hatred;  whereas,  she  who  makes  him  perfectly 
happy,  without  any  alloy  or  misery,  thereby  renders  his  love  absolutely 


TRUTHS   FOR   THE   NEWLY   MARRIED.  63 

indifferent  animal  pair  is  found,  except  among  human  brutes — who, 
when  antagonistic,  are  as  much  more  brutal  than  savage  beasts,  as 
man  should  be  a  higher  sample  of  conjugality  than  animal.  Every 
woman  whose  husband  is  indifferent,  is  entitled  by  nature's  laws  to  a 
divorce,  is  divorced  practically;  for  this  indifference  "puts  her  away, " 
while  her  indifference  towards  him  is  virtual  abandonment. 

Blighting  Effects  of  Neglect. 

What  ergot  is  to  grain  and  poison  to  food,  conjugal  neglect  or 
coldness  is  to  true  conjugality ;  but  what  rich,  luscious  fruit  is  to  eye 
and  taste,  are  these  turtle-dove  billings  and  cooings  to  love — its  very 
nature,  embodiment,  and  great  promoter.  To  reciprocate  it,  woman 
was  made  feminine  and  charming. 

Indifference  causes  alienations  and  infidelities.  After  love  has  been 
once  awakened,  it  must  continue  or  starve.  It  should  be  directed  to 
its  first  object,  but  becoming  estranged  from  it,  must  seek  another  or 
perish.  This  law  explains  Mrs.  Gurney's  sad  fall.  Her  parliamen- 
tary husband,  though  kind  to  her  and  regaling  her  with  country  and 
city  pleasures  ad  libitum,  was  too  busy  to  lavish  on  her  those  little 
attentions  so  agreeable  to  woman  and  promotive  of  love,  which, 
bestowed  by  her  groom,  completely  fascinated  her  and  induced  her 
to  abandon  husband,  family,  position,  everything  dear  to  her,  that  she 
might  revel  in  those  little  gallantries  which,  if  they  had  been  supplied 
from  their  legitimate  source,  would  doubtless  have  had  no  charms  for 
her  from  a  lower  quarter. 

Strongest  of  Human  Ties. 

Conjugal  duties  are  more  obligatory  than  pecuniary,  benevolent, 
neighborly,  or  filial.  As  those  who  solemnly  promise  to  pay  promptly 
for  goods  delivered  are  bound  faithfully  to  fulfil,  so  when  a  woman 
has  delivered  her  whole  being  to  a  man,  under  his  solemn  promises, 
implied  and  expressed  in  secret  and  public,  that  he  will  repay  her  in  and 
by  bestowing  his  own  on  her,  does  not  every  human  obligation  demand 
his  fulfilment  of  his  vow  to  "  love  and  cherish  her  till  parted  by  death  ?  " 


PART    II. 

THE  HUMAN  PELYIS  AND  ORGANS 
OF  GENERATION. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
STRUCTURE  OF  THE  PELVIS. 

Meaning  of  the  Term  Pelvis  —  Natural  Form  and  Dimensions—  The  Brim  —  The 
Cavity  —  Position  in  Regard  to  the  Trunk  of  the  Body  —  How  the  Womb  is 
Supported  —  Separation  of  Bones  During  Childbirth  —  Loosening  of  Ligaments 
—  Male  andFemale  Pelvis  Compared  —  Bones  of  the  Male  Harder  Than  in  the 
Female  —  Deformities  of  the  Pelvis  —  How  Distortions  are  Produced. 


term  pelvis  is  applied  to  that  mass  of  bones  which,  placed  at 
the  bottom  of  the  spinal  column,  and   resting  on  the  inferior 
extremities,   connect  the  thighs  with  the    upper   part   of   the 
trunk.     When   divested   of  its   soft  structures  this  organ   somewhat 
resembles  a  basin,  and  hence  its  name  ;  for.  the  Greeks  called   it  by  a 
name  signifying  a  wooden  utensil  of  bowl-form,   used  for  domestic 
purposes  ;  the  Latins  from  them  derived  the  word  pelvis,  which  we 
have  adopted.     In  many  of  the  older  anatomical  works  it  is  described 
as  "  the  basin,"  but  all  the   recent  authors  have  preferred   the  more 
classical  appellation  of  pelvis. 

Form  and  Dimensions  of  the  Pelvis. 

When  we  examine  the  pelvis  with  reference  to  childbirth  we  must 
attend  not  only  to  its  figure  but  also  to  its  dimensions,  and  the  bear- 
ings which  its  axes  hold  in  regard  to  each  other  and  to  the  trunk  of 
the  body.  We  observe  that  it  is  formed  on  the  principle  of  the  double 
arch,  which  structure  in  architecture  possesses  the  greatest  possible 
degree  of  firmness  that  can  be  devised  for  the  quantity  of  material 
6  65 


66  THE   PELVIS   AND   ORGANS   OF   GENERATION. 

employed.  So  that  the  pelvis  combines,  to  an  eminent  extent,  the 
qualities  of  strength  and  lightness. 

In  demonstrating  the  shape  and  size  of  the  female  pelvis,  it  is  the 
custom  not  to  describe  any  particular  specimen  which  we  may  happen 
to  possess,  but  to  assume  a  model  of  perfection,  which  we  consider 
standard  ;  so  symmetrically  formed,  as  would  most  completely  answer 
all  the  intentions  that  nature  has  assigned  to  it. 

The  brim,  somewhat  oval  in  shape,  has  necessarily  two  diameters — 
the  longest  from  side  to  side — the  shortest  in  the  centre  from  before 


THE    MALE    PELVIS. 

backwards.  The  regularity  of  the  oval  is  broken  so  that  the  outline 
represents,  in  some  measure,  the  heart  as  painted  upon  playing  cards. 
But  this  resemblance  is  stronger  in  the  male  than  in  the  pelvis  of  the 
opposite  sex,  because  the  longest  diameter  in  the  male  pelvis  is  from 
top  to  bottom,  while  in  the  female  it  is  laterally,  or  from  side  to  side. 
The  cavity  is  observed  to  be  deep  behind,  shallow  in  front ;  and  it 
becomes  gradually  shallower  as  we  traverse  from  the  back  to  the  fore 
part.  The  greatest  depth  should  be  from  five  inches  and  a  half  to 
six  inches,  and  at  the  side  three  inches  and  a  half. 


—  Last  Lumbar  Vertebrae. 


Sacrum. 


Rectum  ; 

here  covered  by  Peritoneum, 

Uterus. 


-  TJrachus. 

-  -Bladder. 

—  Motis  Veneris. 
-Symphisis  Pubis. 

-  Clitoris. 


SECTION    OF    FEMALE    PELVIS    AND    ORGANS. 


THE   PELVIS   AND   ORGANS   OF   GENERATION.  67 

The  position  of  the  pelvis  in  regard  to  the  trunk  of  the  body  is 
neither  perpendicular  to  the  horizon,  nor  horizontal,  but  oblique.  It 
is  thus  that  the  uterus  or  womb  is  supported  during  the  latter  months 
of  pregnancy.  Were  the  axes  of  the  trunk  and  pelvic  entrance  in  the 
same  line,  owing  to  the  upright  position  of  the  human  female,  the 
womb,  towards  the  close  of  gestation,  would  gravitate  low  into  the 
pelvis,  and  produce  most  injurious  pressure  on  the  contained  viscera ; 
while,  in  the  early  months,  not  only  would  the  same  distressful  incon- 
venience be  occasioned,  but  there  would  be  great  danger  of  its  pro- 


THE    FEMALE    PELVIS. 

truding   externally,  and   appearing   as  a  tumor  between  the  thighs, 
covered  by  the  inverted  vagina  (passage  to  the  womb). 

It  was  for  many  centuries  the  prevalent  opinion  that  the  bones  of 
the  pelvis  always  separated — or  were  disposed  to  separate,  if  occasion 
required  it — during  parturition  (childbirth),  and  that  they  thus  allowed 
the  pelvic  dimensions  to  be  increased  in  every  direction.  This  idea 
was  rendered  more  probable  by  analogy  ;  for  it  is  said  that  in  some 
animals,  as  the  cow,  the  bones  are  absolutely  disunited  to  some 
extent,  and  that  the  sinking  of  the  sacrum,  occasioned  by  its  own 


68  THE   PELVIS   AND   ORGANS   OF   GENERATION. 

weight  and  by  the  softened  condition  of  the  ligaments,  together  with 
a  difficulty  in  progressive  motion,  is  an  indication  of  the  near  approach 
of  parturition.  Such  a  separation  may  possibly  take  place  in  the 
lower  animals,  but  it  is  certainly  not  usual  in  the  human  subject. 

Derangement  of  the  Bones  and  Ligaments. 

The  joints  are  liable,  indeed,  to  inflammation ;  and  pus  being 
secreted  between  the  bones  may  occasion  disunion — a  disease  attended 
with  high  constitutional  excitement,  and  no  small  danger.  Some- 
times, also,  an  actual  separation  of  the  bones  occurs,  both  during 
pregnancy  and  after  labor,  from  simple  relaxation  of  the  ligaments  ; 
which  state  gives  rise  to  pain  in  the  part  deranged,  and  an  inability  to 
walk  or  stand  without  artificial  support.  This  affection,  though  not 
attended  with  so  much  suffering  or  hazard  as  acute  inflammation,  is 
nevertheless  of  a  very  distressing  character,  and  very  difficult  of  cure, 
commonly  confining  the  patient  to  bed  or  the  sofa  for  many  months. 

But  it  would  be  travelling  too  far  out  of  the  limits  of  this  publica- 
tion to  enter  minutely  into  the  history  of  these  diseases  ;  and  it  is  suf- 
ficient for  our  present  purpose  to  know  that,  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases,  there  is  no  sensible  relaxation  of  the  pubic  or  sacro-iliac  liga- 
ments ;  that  in  others  a  softening  does  occur  in  various  degrees,  and 
that,  when  that  change  reaches  such  a  point  as  to  be  attended  with 
pain  or  inconvenience,  it  must  be  considered  as  morbid. 

Differences  Between  the  Male   and  Female  Pelvis. 

On  comparing  the  male  and  female  pelvis  together,  we  cannot  but 
remark  a  striking  difference  in  the  general  appearance  and  particular 
proportions  of  this  organ  in  the  two  sexes.  We  observe  that  the 
pelvis  of  the  female  is  altogether  larger  and  more  delicately  shaped 
than  that  of  the  male.  The  brim  is  differently  shaped;  the  long 
diameter  in  the  female  being  from  side  to  side ;  in  the  male  from 
before  backwards. 

The  cavity  is  considerably  smaller  in  the  male,  deeper,  more  of  a 
funnel  shape.  The  outlet  is  also  far  less  capacious.  The  arch  of  the 


SECTION    OF    FEMALE    PELVIS,    SHOWING    THE    PRINCIPAL    PELVIC 

NERVES. 

a.  Spermatic  vein.  b.  Spermatic  artery,  c.  Directs  to  the  vena  cava. 
d.  The  aorta,  e^  e.  Inferior  mesenteric  nerves,  f,  g.  The  fourth  and 
fifth  lumbar  ganglia,  h,  i,  k.  The  first,  second,  and  third  sacral. 
m,  m,  m.  The  lumbar  and  sacral  nerves,  n.  Branch  supplying  lower 
part  of  the  rectum. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
GENITAL  ORGANS  OF  THE  FEMALE. 

The  Mons  Veneris— The  Labia,  or  Lips— The  Vulva— The  Clitoris— The  Nymphae— 
Vagina,  or  Canal  Extending  to  the  Uterus — The  Sphincter — The  Hymen  and 
its  Situation — Uterus,  or  Womb — Fallopian  Tubes — Mouth  of  the  Uterus — In- 
ternal Cavity — Mucous  Membrane — Arteries,  Veins  and  Nerves — The  Liga- 
ments— Structure  of  the  Ovaries — Ovasacs,  or  Graafian  Vesicles — Vesicles  in 
the  Foetus— Nerves  of  the  Ovaries. 

THE  genital  organs  of  the  male  effect  fewer  functions  than  those 
of  the  female.     They  serve  for  copulation  and  fecundation  only. 
Those  of  the  female — in  addition  to  parts  which  fulfil  these 
offices — comprise  others  for  gestation  and  lactation  (suckling). 

The  soft  and  prominent  covering  to  the  symphysis  pubis — which  is 
formed  by  the  common  integument,  elevated  by  fat,  and,  at  the  age 
of  puberty,  covered  by  hair,  formerly  termed  trcssoria — is  called  mons 
veneris.  The  absence  of  this  hair  has,  by  the  vulgar,  been  esteemed  a 
matter  of  reproach ;  and  it  was  formerly  the  custom,  when  a  female 
had  been  detected  a  third  time  in  incontinent  practices,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Superior  Courts  of  Westminster,  to  punish  the  offence  by 
cutting  off  the  tressoria  in  open  court. 

Below  this  are  the  labia  pudendi  or  labia  majora,  which  are  two 
large,  soft  lips,  formed  by  a  duplicature  of  the  common  integument, 
with  adipose  matter  interposed.  The  inner  surface  is  smooth  and 
studded  with  sebaceous  follicles.  The  labia  commence  at  the  sym- 
physis pubis,  descend  to  the  perinoeum,  which  is  the  portion  of 
the  integument,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  between  the 
posterior  commissure  of  the  labia  and  the  anus. 

The  opening  between  the  labia  is  the  vulva  or  fossa  magna.  At 
the  upper  junction  of  the  labia  and  within  them,  a  small  organ  exists, 
called  clitoris.  It  is  formed  of  corpora  cavernosa,  and  is  terminated 
anteriorly  by  the  glans,  which  is  covered  by  a  prepuce  consisting  of  a 
prolongation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  vagina. 

71 


76  GENITAL   ORGANS   OF  THE   FEMALE. 

prominent.     It  is  covered  with  a  fine  villi,  and  the  orifices  of  several 
mucous  follicles  are  visible. 

Mucous   Membrane  of  the  Uterus. 

When  examined  with  a  lens,  the  mucous  membrane  is  found  to  be 
marked  over  with  minute  dots,  which  are  the  orifices  of  numerous 
simple  tubular  glands  ;  some  of  these  are  branched  and  others  slightly 
twisted  into  a  coil.  They  can  be  seen  in  the  virgin  uterus,  but  become 


POSTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  UTERUS  AND  ITS  APPENDAGES,  THE  CAVITY  OF 
THE  UTERUS  BEING  SHOWN  BY  THE  REMOVAL  OF  ITS  POSTERIOR  WALL, 
AND  THE  VAGINA  BEING  LAID  OPEN. 

a.  Fundus,  b,  body,  and  c,  cervix  of  the  uterus,  laid  open.  The  arbor  vitee  is 
shown  in  the  cervix,  d.  The  os  uteri  externum,  laid  open.  e.  The  interior  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  vagina,  f.  Section  of  the  walls  of  the  uterus,  i.  Opening  into 
Fallopian  tube.  o.  Ovary,  p.  Ligament  of  ovary,  r.  Broad  ligament,  .s.  Fallo- 
pian tube.  /.  Fimbriated  extremity. 

enlarged  on  impregnation.  The  proper  tissue  of  the  organ  is  dense, 
compact,  not  easily  cut,  and  somewhat  resembles  cartilage  in  color, 
resistance  and  elasticity.  It  is  a  whitish,  homogeneous  substance, 
penetrated  by  numerous  minute  vessels. 

In  the  unimpregnated  state,  the  fibres  which  enter  into  the  com- 
position of  the  tissue,  appear  ligamentous,  and  pass  in  every  direction, 
but  so  as  to  permit  the  uterus  to  be  more  readily  lacerated  from  the 
circumference  to  the  centre  than  in  any  other  direction.  The  precise 


THE   UTERUS    (\VOMB)    WITH    VAGINA    LAID    OPEN. 

a,  b.  Section  of  peritoneum,  d.  Os  uteri  (mouth  of  the  womb). 
£y  e,  e.  Fold  of  peritoneum.  f,f.  Round  ligament  of  womb,  g,  g.  Fal- 
lopian tubes,  h.  Fringed  extremity  of  Fallopian  tube,  i,  i.  Ovaries. 
k.  Vagina. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
MENSTRUATION. 

A  Subject  of  Great  Importance — Girl  and  Woman  -Evils  of  Too  Early  Marriage — 
Feeble  Parents  and  Feeble  Children — Duration  of  Monthly  Period — Period  of 
Puberty — Very  Young  Mothers — Close  of  the  Menstrual  Function — Some 
Remarkable  Facts — Nature  of  the  Menstrual  Discharge — Suppressed  by  Preg- 
nancy— Effects  of  Nursing — An  Evil  Practice — Poverty  of  Blood — Regularity 
Important — Effects  of  Dissipation — ' '  Change  of  L,ife  ' ' — Profuse  Discharges — 
Nervous  Symptoms — Flushes  of  Heat — Bleeding  at  the  Nose — Hysteria — The 
Blessing  of  Health. 

TT    TREE  is  known  by  its   fruit;"  so   a  healthy  womb — one 
J^\^     capable  of  bearing  a  child — is  known  usually  by  menstrua- 
tion ;  for  if  menstruation   be,  in  every  way,  properly  and 
healthily  performed,  there  is,  as  a  rule,  no  reason,  as  far  as  the  wife  is 
herself  concerned,  why  she  should  not  conceive,  carry,  and,  in  due 
time,  bring  forth  a  living  child  ;  hence  the  importance  of  menstruation 
— the  subject  we  are  now  entering  upon,  and  which,  indeed,  is  one  of 
the  most  important  that  can  engage  the  attention  of  every  woman,  for 
if  menstruation  be  healthy,  the  womb  is  healthy,  and  the  woman,  as  a 
rule,  is  healthy,  and  capable  both  of  conception  and  of  child-bearing. 
There  is  an  important  epoch  in  the  life  of  a  woman  which  might  be 
divided  into  three  stages,  namely  :  (i)  the  commencement  of  menstrua- 
tion— of  puberty ;  (2)  the  continuation,  at  regular  periods,  of  men- 
struation— the  child-bearing  age  ;  and  (3)  the  close  of  menstruation — 
of  child-bearing — "  the  change  of  life." 

A  good  beginning  at  this  time  is  peculiarly  necessary,  or  a  girl's 
health  is  sure  to  suffer,  and  different  organs  of  the  body — her  lungs, 
for  instance — might  become  imperilled.  A  healthy  continuation,  at 
regular  periods,  is  much  needed,  or  conception,  when  she  is  married, 
might  not  be  practicable.  The  close  of  menstruation  requires  great 
attention  and  skilful  management  to  ward  off  many  formidable  diseases, 
which  at  the  close  of  menstruation — at  "  the  change  of  life" — are  more 
likely  than  at  any  time  to  become  developed. 

6  SI 


MENSTRUATION.  89 

In  a  pale,  delicate  girl  or  wife,  who  is  laboring  under  what  is  popu- 
larly called  poverty  of  blood,  the  menstrual  fluid  is  sometimes  very  scant, 
at  others  very  copious,  but  is,  in  either  case,  usually  very  pale — almost  as 
colorless  as  water — the  patient  being  very  nervous,  and  even  hysterical. 
Now,  these  are  signs  of  great  debility  ;  but,  fortunately  for  such  a  one, 
a  medical  man  is,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  in  possession  of  remedies 
that  will  soon  make  her  all  right  again. 

Too  Weak  to  Bring  Forth. 

A  delicate  girl  has  no  right,  until  she  be  made  strong,  to  marry. 
If  she  'should  marry,  she  will  frequently,  when  in  labor,  not  have 
strength  to  bring  a  child  into  the  world ;  which,  provided  she  be 
healthy  and  well-formed,  ought  not  to  be.  How  graphically  the  Bible 
tells  of  delicate  women  not  having  strength  to  bring  children  into  the 
world  :  "  For  the  children  are  come  to  the  birth,  and  there  is  not 
strength  to  bring  forth." — 2  Kings,  xix.  3. 

When  a  lady  is  neither  pregnant  nor  "  regular,"  she  ought  imme- 
diately to  apply  to  a  doctor,  as  she  may  depend  upon  it  there  is  some- 
thing wrong  about  her,  and  that  she  is  not  likely  to  become  enceinte 
until  menstruation  be  properly  established.  As  soon  as  menstruation 
be  duly  established,  pregnancy  will  most  likely,  in  due  time,  ensue 

What  Is  Meant  by  Being  Regular. 

When  a  lady  is  said  to  be  "regular,"  it  is  understood  that  she  is 
"regular"  as  to  "  quality,"  and  quantity,  and  time.  If  she  be  only 
"  regular  "  as  to  the  time,  and  the  quantity  be  either  deficient  or  in 
excess;  or,  if  she  be  "regular"  as  to  the  time,  and  the  quality  be 
bad,  either  too  pale  or  too  dark;  or  if  she  be  "regular"  as  to  the 
quality  and  quantity,  and  be  irregular  as  to  the  time,  she  cannot  be 
well,  and  the  sooner  means  are  adopted  to  rectify  the  evil,  the  better 
it  will  be  both  for  her  health  and  for  her  happiness. 

A  neglected  miscarriage  is  a  frequent  cause  of  unhealthy  menstrua- 
tion ;  and  until  the  womb,  and  in  consequence  "the  periods,"  by 
judicious  medical  treatment,  be  made  healthy,  there  is  indeed  but  scant 
chance  of  a  family. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
CONCEPTION. 

The  Seminal  Animalcule — Body  and  Soul — Birth  and  Genius — Children  of  all 
Races  Resemble  their  Parents — Each  Parent  an  Agent — Testes  and  Ovaries — 
Zoosperms  or  Spermatozoa — How  Impregnation  Takes  Place — Vast  Numbers 
of  Zoosperms — Kgg  of  the  Fowl — Most  Favorable  Period  for  Conception — How 
the  Generative  Act  should  be  Performed — When  Impregnation  is  not  Likely 
to  Take  Place — Limiting  the  Number  of  Children — Prevention  of  Conception. 

THE  formation  of  the  zoosperm,  or  seminal  animalcule,  in  man,  and 
the  ovum  in  woman,  belongs  to  the  domain  of  organic  life,  yet 
all  the   highest  powers   of  the  soul  and  the  soul's  organs  are 
engaged  in  the  work.     For  there  is  to  be  more  than  a  mere  bodily 
organization  formed — a  mass  of  bone,  muscle,  and   various  tissues. 
First  of  all,  there  is  to  be  generated  an  immortal  soul. 

The  generation  of  souls  seems  necessary,  indeed,  to  explain  the 
facts  of  the  hereditary  transmission  of  moral  and  mental,  as  well  as 
physical  qualities.  The  souls  of  children — their  moral  characters — 
are  like  those  of  their  parents,  and  compounded  of  those  of  theij 
fathers  and  mothers,  some  more  resembling  one,  some  the  other.  We 
never  find  the  soul  of  a  European  in  the  body  of  a  Hottentot,  or  the 
soul  of  a  North  American  Indian  in  the  body  of  a  native  of  China. 

How  Character  is  Formed. 

Two  human  beings,  uniting  as  one,  becoming  "  one  flesh,"  have 
thus  given  to  them  the  power  or  are  the  appointed  instruments  of 
generating  a  third  being — body,  soul  and  spirit.  They  form  it  accord- 
ing to  their  own  capacities.  Or,  if  the  soul  have  any  other  origin,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  they  limit  its  expression  and  development,  and 
all  its  earthly  manifestation ;  so  that  there  are  great  and  little  souls, 
beautiful  and  ugly  souls,  and  so  on  of  all  varieties  of  human  char- 
acter. 

But  it  must  also  be  admitted  that  there  are  facts  of  human  intelli- 
gence and  goodness  not  easily  accounted  for  upon  the  theory  of 

95 


CONCEPTION.  101 

matter,  that  pellucid  cell,  we  have  the  shape  and  air,  the  talents  and 
genius,  the  honesty  or  roguery,  the  pride  or  humility,  the  benevolence 
or  selfishness  of  the  future  man.  We  have  what  determines  the  form 
of  his  head  and  hands,  the  contour  of  his  nose  and  chin,  the  color  of 
his  eye  and  hair.  Moreover,  this  spermatic  animalcule,  or  this  cell 
germ,  has  all  hereditary  idiosyncrasies  and  diseases — gout,  scrofula, 
venereal  taint,  or  insanity. 

Life  and  Character  in  the  Germ  and  Spermatozoon. 

We  can  scarcely  conceive  of  this,  yet  we  must  admit  it.  All  the 
grand  and  energetic  qualities  that  made  a  Caesar  or  a  Napoleon — all 
that  can  be  fairly  attributed  to  blood  and  birth,  to  hereditary  influ- 
ences— must  have  been  contained  in  one  or  both  these  atoms. 

We  do  not  underrate  the  influences  that  may  act  upon  the  foetus 
during  gestation.  We  give  full  credit  to  the  power  of  education  in 
forming  the  human  character,  but  we  assert  that  all  which  makes  the 
basis  of  the  character,  mental  and  physical,  must  reside  in  the  germ 
and  the  spermatozoon,  and  must  combine  at  the  moment  of  impreg- 
nation, or  the  union  of  these  principles. 

For  all  the  qualities  of  soul  and  body  which  make  the  differences 
between  a  mouse,  a  dog,  a  horse,  an  elephant,  must  be  in  their  ger- 
minal principles.  The  appearance  of  the  zoosperms  in  different 
animals  varies  slightly  under  the  microscope — that  of  the  ova  scarcely 
at  all.  Moreover,  when  two  nearly  allied  species  of  animals  engen- 
der— when,  for  example,  the  zoosperm  of  the  ass  unites  with  the  ovum 
of  the  mare — each  parent  is  found  to  contribute  to  the  mental  and 
physical  qualities  of  the  offspring.  In  all  crossings  of  different  breeds 
of  animals,  we  find  the  same  effects  produced,  the  more  powerful 
impressing  themselves  most  strongly,  and  the  two  sexes  giving  each 
certain  peculiar  characteristics. 

Nor  is  this  by  any  means  less  notably  the  fact  in  the  human  species. 
When  sexual  commerce  takes  place  between  a  negro  and  a  white 
woman,  the  child  partakes  of  the  mental  and  physical  qualities  of 
both, 


THE    UTERUS    (WOMB)    AND    ARTERIES. 

a,  a.  The  kidneys,  b,  b.  The  ureters,  c.  The  uterus,  d,  d.  The  broad 
ligaments,  e,  e.  The  ovaries.  f,f.  The  Fallopian  tubes,  g.  The  rectum 
cut.  h.  The  aorta,  i.  The  superior  mesenteric  artery  divided,  k.  The 
inferior  mesenteric  artery  divided.  /,/.  The  renal,  m,  m.  The  common 
iliacs.  n,  n.  The  external  iliacs.  o,  o.  The  internal  iliacs. 


CHAPTER  X. 
PREGNANCY. 

Cessation  of  Menses — Morning  Sickness — Pains  in  the  Breast — Quickening — Flut- 
tering Motions — Flatulence — Increase  in  Size — Emaciation — Heartburn — Mor- 
bid Ixmgings — Excitability  of  Mind — Suitable  Clothing — Ablutions — Air  and 
Exercise — Evils  of  Indolence — Ventilation  and  Drainage — Horrid  Odors — 
Disinfectants — Pain  a  Warning — Hotbeds  of  Disease — Pure  Water — Benefits 
of  Rest—  What  to  Eat — Spices  and  Condiments — Abuse  of  Stimulants — Rest- 
lessness toid  Sleep. 

TV  HEALTHY  married  woman,  during  the  period  of  child-bear- 
£jL  ing,  suddenly  "  ceasing-to-be-unwell,"  is  of  itself  alone  almost 
a  sure  and  certain  sign  of  pregnancy — requiring  but  little  else 
besides  to  confirm  it.  This  fact  is  well  known  by  all  who  have  had 
children — they  base  their  predictions  and  their  calculations  upon  it, 
and  upon  it  alone,  a.Td  are,  in  consequence,  seldom  deceived. 

But  as  "  ceasing-to  be-unwell  "  may  proceed  from  other  causes  than 
that  of  pregnancy — such  as  disease  or  disorder  of  the  womb,  or  of 
other  organs  of  the  body — especially  of  the  lungs — it  is  not  by  itself 
alone  entirely  to  be  depended  upon  ;  although,  as  a  single  sign,  it  isr 
especially  if  the  patient  be  healthy,  the  most  reliable  of  all  the 
signs  of  pregnancy. 

The  next  symptom  is  morning  sickness.  This  is  one  of  the  earliest 
symptoms  of  pregnancy,  as  it  sometimes  occurs  a  few  days,  and, 
indeed,  generally  not  later  than  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  after  con- 
ception. Morning  sickness  is  frequently  distressing,  oftentimes 
amounting  to  vomiting  and  causing  a  loathing  of  breakfast.  This 
sign  usually  disappears  after  the  first  three  or  four  months.  Morning 
sickness  is  not  always  present  in  pregnancy,  but,  nevertheless,  it  is  a 
frequent  accompaniment,  and  many  who  have  had  families  place  more 
reliance  on  this  than  on  any  other  symptom.  Morning  sickness  is  one 
of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  very  earliest,  symptom  of  pregnancy,  and  is 
by  some  ladies  taken  as  their  starting-point  from  which  to  commence 
making  their  "  count," 
106 


PREGNANCY.  107 

Morning  sickness,  then,  if  it  does  not  arise  from  a  disordered 
stomach,  is  one  of  the  most  trustworthy  signs  of  pregnancy.  A 
lady  who  has  once  had  morning  sickness  can  always  for  the  future 
distinguish  it  from  each  and  from  every  other  sickness ;  it  is  a  peculiar 
sickness,  which  no  other  sickness  can  simulate.  Moreover,  it  is 
emphatically  a  morning-sickness — the  patient  being,  as  a  rule,  for  the 
rest  of  the  day  entirely  free  from  sickness,  or  from  the  feeling  of 
sickness. 

Darting  Pains  in  the  Breast, 

A  third  symptom  is  shooting,  throbbing  and  lancinating  pains,  and 
enlargement  of  the  breast,  with  soreness  of  the  nipples,  occurring 
about  the  second  month,  and  in  some  instances,  after  the  first  few 
months,  a  small  quantity  of  watery  fluid,  or  a  little  milk,  may  be 
squeezed  out  of  them.  This  latter  symptom,  in  a  first  pregnancy,  is 
valuable,  and  can  generally  be  relied  on  as  conclusive  that  the  female 
is  pregnant.  It  is  not  so  valuable  in  an  after  pregnancy,  as  a  little 
milk  might,  even  should  she  not  be  pregnant,  remain  in  the  breasts 
for  some  months  after  she  has  weaned  her  child. 

Milk  in  the  breast — however  small  it  might  be  in  quantity — is,  espe- 
cially in  a  first  pregnancy,  a  very  reliable  sign  ;  indeed,  we  might  go  so 
far  as  to  say  a  certain  sign  of  pregnancy.  The  veins  of  the  breast 
look  more  blue,  and  are  consequently  more  conspicuous  than  usual, 
giving  the  bosom  a  mottled  appearance.  The  breasts  themselves  are 
firmer  and  more  knotty  to  the  touch.  The  nipples,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  look  more  healthy  than  customary,  and  are  somewhat  elevated 
and  enlarged  ;  there  is  generally  a  slight  moisture  upon  their  surface, 
Sufficient  in  some  instances  to  mark  the  linen. 

Dark  Circle  Around  the  Nipple. 

A  dark-brown  areola  or  disc  may  usually  be  noticed  around  the 
nipple,  the  change  of  color  commencing  about  the  second  month. 
The  tint  at  first  is  light  brown,  which  gradually  deepens  in  intensity, 
until  towards  the  end  of  pregnancy  the  color  may  be  very  dark.  Dr. 
Montgomery,  who  has  paid  great  attention  to  the  subject,  observes  : 


THE    VITAL    SYSTEM. 

A.  Heart.  B,  13.  Lungs.  C.  Liver.  D.  Stomach.  S.  Spleen. 
m,  m.  Kidneys,  g.  Bladder,  d  is  the  diaphragm  which  forms 
the  partition  between  the  thorax  and  abdomen.  Under  the 
latter  is  the  cardiac  orifice  of  the  stomach,  and  at  the  right 
extremity,  or  pit  of  the  stomach,  is  the  pyloric  orifice;  below 
are  the  large  and  small  intestines.  /.  Womb,  h,  h.  Ovaries. 
.  Bladder. 


PREGNANCY.  113 

The  longings  of  a  pregnant  lady  are  sometimes  truly  absurd ;  but 
like  almost  everything  else,  "it  grows  upon  what  it  is  fed."  They 
long  for  sucking  pig,  for  the  cracklings  of  pork,  for  raw  carrots  and 
raw  turnips,  for  raw  meat — for  anything  and  for  everything  that  is 
unwholesome,  and  that  they  would  at  any  other  time  loathe  and  turn 
away  from  in  disgust.  The  best  plan  of  treatment  for  a  pregnant 
lady,  who  has  longings,  to  adopt  is,  not  to  give  way  to  such  longings, 
unless,  indeed,  the  longings  be  of  a  harmless,  simple  nature,  and 
they  then  will  soon  pass  harmlessly  by. 

Mental  Excitement. 

Excitability  of  mind  is  very  common  in  pregnancy,  more  especially 
if  the  patient  be  delicate ;  indeed,  excitability  is  a  sign  of  debility,  and 
requires  plenty  of  good  nourishment,  but  few  stimulants. 

Likes  and  dislikes  in  eating  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  pregnancy 
— particularly  in  early  pregnancy — more  especially  if  the  patient  has 
naturally  a  weak  digestion.  If  her  digestion  be  weak,  she  is  sure  to 
have  a  disordered  stomach — one  following  the  other  in  regular 
sequence.  A  little  appropriate  medicine,  from  a  medical  man,  will 
rectify  the  evil  and  improve  the  digestion,  and  thus  do  away  with 
the  likes  and  dislikes  in  eating.  Liver-  or  sulphur-colored  patches  on 
the  skin — principally  on  the  face,  neck  and  throat — are  tell-tales  of 
pregnancy,  and  to  an  experienced  matron,  publish  the  fact  that  an 
acquaintance  thus  marked  is  enceinte. 

The  Best  Clothing. 

Some  newly-married  wives,  to  hide  their  pregnancy  from  their 
friends  and  acquaintances,  screw  themselves  up  in  tight  stays  and  in 
tight  dresses.  Now,  this  is  not  only  foolish,  but  it  is  dangerous,  and 
might  cause  either  a  miscarriage,  or  a  premature  labor,  or  a  cross- 
birth,  or  a  bearing-down  of  the  womb.  A  wife,  then,  more  especially 
during  pregnancy,  should,  to  the  breasts  and  to  the  abdomen, 

"Give  ample  room  and  verge  enough." 
A  lady  who  is  pregnant  ought  on  no  account  to  wear  tight  dresses, 


PREGNANCY.  117 

A  lady  who,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  lolls  either  on  a 
sofa  or  on  an  easy  chair,  and  who  seldom  walks  out,  has  a  much 
more  lingering  and  painful  labor  than  one  who  takes  moderate  and 
regular  open-air  excercise,  and  who  attends  to  her  household  duties. 
An  active  life  is,  then,  the  principal  reason  why  the  wives  of  the  poor 
have  such  quick  and  easy  labors,  and  such  good  recoveries  ;  why 
their  babies  are  so  rosy,  healthy  and  strong,  notwithstanding  the 
privations  and  hardships  and  poverty  of  the  parents. 

Advantages  of  Activity. 

Bear  in  mind,  that  a  lively,  active  woman  has  an  easier  and  quicker 
labor  and  a  finer  race  of  children  than  one  who  is  lethargic  and  indo- 
lent. Idleness  brings  misery,  anguish  and  suffering  in  its  train,  and 
particularly  affects  pregnant  ladies.  Oh,  that  these  words  would  have 
due  weight,  then  this  book  will  not  have  been  written  in  vain  !  The 
hardest  work  in  the  world  is  having  nothing  to  do.  <l  Idle  people 
have  the  most  labor;"  this  is  particularly  true  in  pregnancy;  a  lady 
will,  when  labor  actually  sets  in,  find  to  her  cost  that  idleness  has 
given  her  the  most  labor. 

Says  quaint  old  Burton  :  "  Idleness  is  the  badge  of  gentry,  the 
bane  of  body  and  mind,  the  nurse  of  Naughtiness,  the  stepmother 
of  Discipline,  the  chief  author  of  all  Mischief,  one  of  the  seven  deadly 
sins,  the  cushion  upon  which  the  Devil  chiefly  reposes,  and  a  great 
cause,  not  only  of  Melancholy,  but  of  many  other  diseases,  for  the 
mind  is  naturally  active,  and  if  it  be  not  occupied  about  some  honest 
business,  it  rushes  into  Mischief  or  sinks  into  Melancholy." 

A  lady  sometimes  looks  upon  pregnancy  more  as  a  disease  than  as 
a  natural  process  ;  hence,  she  treats  herself  as  though  she  were  a 
regular  invalid,  and,  unfortunately,  she  too  often  makes  herself  really 
one  by  improper  and  by  foolish  indulgences. 

Ventilation — Drainage. 

Let  a  lady  look  well  to  the  ventilation  of  her  house  ;  let  her  take 
care  that  every  chimney  be  unstopped,  and  during  the  daytime  that 


A    FCETUS    OF    FIVE    MONTHS     AGE   WITH    THE    SURROUNDING 
MEMBRANE. 

a.  A  portion  of  deciduous  membrane,     d,  b.  The  placenta  (afterbirth). 
c.  The  chorion.     d.     The  amnion  with  the  foetus  within  it. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  HUMAN  OVUM,  OR  EGG. 

Bitth  of  Plants — How  Animalcules  are  Formed — Amazing  Number  of  Bggs  in 
Fishes — Spontaneous  Generation  a  Myth — Ovaries  of  the  Human  Female-- 
Seminal  Fluid  of  the  Male — Reception  of  the  Ovum  by  the  Uterus — The 
Germinal  Centre — Anatomy  of  the  Testes — Evolution  of  Spermatozoa — Result 
of  Impregnation— "The  Turn  of  Life  "—Remarkable  Changes  at  Puberty- 
Woman's  Organization  Finer  than  that  of  Man — Peculiarities  and  Mission  of 
Woman. 

REPRODUCTION  in  animals  is  curiously  analagous  to  the  same 
process    in    the   vegetable   kingdom.       There    are    the    same 
varieties  in  the  modes  of  multiplication  and  generation.     The 
process   of  generation  in  some  of  the  lower  animal  organizations  is 
exactly  like  the  throwing  out  of  new  bulbs  in  plants.     The  polypes 
throw  out  buds  which  in  a  little  while  grow  mouths,  fringed  with  cilia 
or  tentacles,  while  they  are  still  holding  by  stalks  and  drawing  part  of 
their  nourishment  from  their  parents.     When  enough  matured  to  get 
their  own  living  they  drop  off,  swim  away,  and  shift  for  themselves. 
This  is  gemmation. 

Fission  is  a  common  mode  of  propagation  or  multiplication  among 
the  infusoria.  An  animalcule  is  seen  to  contract  in  a  ring  around  its 
centre ;  the  fissure  deepens  and  it  divides  into  two  distinct  beings, 
which  also  divide,  and  so  on,  multiplying  with  surprising  rapidity.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  one  of  these  animalcules  could  produce  by 
these  successive  divisions  in  eight  weeks  a  progeny  of  two  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  millions. 

This  reproductive  power  is,  however,  almost  rivalled  by  some  fishes 
and  insects.  The  carp  lays  seven  hundred  thousand  eggs  in  a  season, 
and  lives  two  hundred  years.  The  possible  progeny  of  a  pair  of  these 
fishes  is  almost  beyond  computation.  The  cod  is  said  to  produce 
from  four  to  nine  millions  of  eggs.  The  female  termite  lays  sixty 
thousand  eggs  a  day  for  a  considerable  period. 
128 


THE   HUMAN   OVUM. 


129 


Some  of  the  lower  animals  may  be  multiplied  artificially  like  vege- 
tables. Thus,  if  some  species  of  the  polypus  are  cut  in  pieces,  each 
piece  produces  the  missing  parts  so  as  to  become  a  perfect  animal,  as 
cuttings  of  a  geranium  produce  geraniums. 

But  perhaps  the  most  curious  mode  of  multiplication  takes  place  in 
some  sea-worms.  They  divide  into  sections  by  constricting  rings,  and 
each  section  forms  for  itself  head,  eyes,  etc.,  at  one  extremity,  and  tail 
at  the  other,  while  yet  the  sections  are  united  ;  but  when  all  is  ready 
each  section  sets  up  its  own  independent  life,  and  then  produces  in  its 


STRUCTURE   OF   THE   WOMB    AND    ITS    APPENDAGES. 

oody  germs  of  similar  worms,  by  the  more  usual  process,  just  as  some 
vegetables  propagate  by  seeds,  as  well  as  by  bulbs  or  tubers. 

Seeds  in  Vegetables  and  Eggs  in  Animals. 

These  modes  of  multiplication — fission,  gemmation,  etc. — such  as  we 
have  described  are,  however,  not  the  rule  in  nature,  but  the  exception, 
or  variation — a  ruder  method  of  the  extension  of  life,  which  is  confined 
to  the  lower  forms  of  animal  existence.  As  vegetables  are  generally 
produced  from  seeds,  animals  are  generally  produced  from  eggs. 
There  is  no  good  reason,  so  far  as  we  now  know,  to  believe  that  there  is 
any  spontaneous  generation  of  vegetables  or  animals — that  is,  that 
9 


WOMB    AND    APPENDAGES. 

The  uterus  is  the  organ  of  gestation,  situated  in  the 
cavity  of  the  pelvis,  between  the  bladder  and  the  rectum, 
a.  The  body  of  the  womb.     b.  The  cervix,  in  the  lower 
end  of  which  is  a  transverse  aperture,  the  os  uteri ; 
around  the  uterus,  and  a  little  above  its  lower 
extremity,  the  vagina,  ct  which  is  here  shown 
cut  open  and  spread  out    The  ovaries,  d  d,  are 


placed  one  on  either  side  of  the  womb,  below  and 
behind  the  Fallopian  tubes,  ee,  and  each  month  for  a 
number  of  years,  during  the  life  of  a  woman,  the 
ovum — egg — bursts  from  the  ovary,  and  is  carried  for- 
ward into  the  womb.  f,  f.  The  broad  ligaments.. 
g.  g.  The  round  ligaments,  h,  h.  Blood-vessels. 


THE  ttuMAN  OVUM.  133 

character  and  power — lies  all  that  shall  distinguish  the  highest 
example  of  human  civilization  and  culture  from  the  lowest  savage — 
poet,  philosopher,  hero,  idiot  ruffian  lunatic — all  the  possibilities  and 
potentialities  of  humanity. 

Wonders  of  Generation. 

At  a  certain  period  in  the  life  of  a  plant,  in  organs  prepared  for  that 
important  function,  are  formed  the  germs  of  new  plants.  The  germ 
producing  organ,  frond  or  flower,  does  its  work  and  dies.  The  tree 
lives  on,  but  each  individual  bud,  producing  flower  and  seed  or  fruit, 
perishes.  This  is  the  law  of  vegeta- 
tive generation. 

Such  is  also,  to  a  great  extent,  the 
law  of  insect  life.  The  insect  pro- 
duces one  crop  of  germs ;  they  are 
fertilized  by  one  conjunction  of  the 
sexes ;  the  eggs  are  deposited,  some- 
times in  immense  numbers,  where 
they  can  be  hatched  in  safety,  and 
where  its  proper  food  can  be  found 
for  the  new  being  in  the  earliest  stage 
of  its  development;  and  then,  as  if 

.,  ,      ,  r   i-r      i       -    i  RIpE  OVUM  SURROUNDED  BY  CELLS. 

the  whole  purpose  of  life  had  been 

accomplished,  the  male  and  female  alike  perish.     In  some  cases  the 

male  insect  sacrifices  his  life  in  the  very  act  of  fecundation. 

In  the  higher  orders  of  animals,  fishes,  reptiles,  birds  and  mam- 
mals, the  production  of  germs  goes  on  year  after  year  in  varying 
periods.  The  guinea-pig  begins  to  breed  at  two  months  old,  and  the 
higher  the  type,  the  later  is  the  period  of  germ  formation,  until  in 
man  the  period  of  puberty  or  the  beginning  of  the  generative  func- 
tion is  at  about  fifteen  years,  varying  from  twelve  to  eighteen,  but  the 
natural  powers  are  scarcely  at  their  full  strength  and  fitness  until 
some  years  later. 

The   power  of  reproduction   as  to   numbers  seems   to  be  in  the 


134  THE  HUMAN  OVUM. 

inverse  ratio  as  to  development.  The  lowest  forms  of  life  multiply 
with  amazing  rapidity ;  some  insects  produce  myriads,  fishes  spawn 
eggs  by  millions,  hens  lay  an  egg  a  day  for  months  together,  rabbits, 
cats,  dogs  breed  every  few  months,  and  have  at  each  birth  a  numerous 
progeny,  while  the  higher  orders  of  mammalia  produce  their  young 
but  once  a  year,  and  have  but  one,  or,  in  rare  cases,  two  at  a  birth. 

When  the  human  germ  has  been  slowly  formed  in  the  ovary,  and 
perfected  up  to  the  period  when  it  bursts  forth  in  its  first  birth,  fit  for 
impregnation,  it  is  nine  months  in  arriving  at  the  development  which 
fits  it  for  birth  and  independent  existence.  For  twelve  months  more 
it  draws  its  supply  of  nutriment  from  the  mother,  and  two  years  may 
be  considered  the  normal  interval  from  birth  to  birth.  It  should  never 


OVUM    STILL    MORE    ADVANCED  THE    OVUM     FROM    THE    LOWER 

IN  THE  TUBE.  END  OF  FALLOPIAN  TUBE. 

be  less  with  a  proper  regard  to  the  health  of  the  mother,  and  the 
proper  development  of  her  children,  and  the  practice  of  shortening 
this  period  by  hiring  wet  nurses  is  a  violation  of  nature  which  is 
avenged  on  parents  and  their  offspring. 

What  the  Ovaries  are  For. 

The  mother  is  exhausted  by  too  frequent  child-bearing,  and  chil- 
dren are  deprived  of  the  love,  the  magnetism,  the  life  of  the  mother, 
which  comes  to  them  from  her  blood  transformed  into  the  most  deli- 
cious food  for  them,  and  the  nervous  and  spiritual  food  which  no 
money  can  buy,  and  no  one  but  the  mother  can  give. 

The  human  germ  cell  or  egg  is  formed  from  the  blood  in  a  gland- 
like  organ,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  oval  shaped,  placed  in  the 


CHAPTER  XII. 
EMBRYOLOGY,  OR  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  FCETUS. 

Order  of  Growth — Vital  Point  of  the  Egg — Ovum  Protected  by  Membranes- 
Resemblance  to  the  Egg  of  the  Fowl — Rapid  Changes  of  the  Germ — Sizes  of 
the  Ovum  at  Different  Periods — Formation  of  Bone  and  Muscle — Growth  of 
the  Vital  Organs — How  the  Embryo  is  Nourished — Birth  of  More  than  One 
Child — Second  Conception — Period  of  Gestation — Pregnancy  Table — Number 
of  Days  to  be  Reckoned — From  What  to  Date  the  Count — Mistakes  in  Reckon- 
ing— The  Sex  of  the  Child — Proportion  of  Boys  to  Girls. 

THE  ovum  once  impregnated,  nature  carries  forward  its  devel- 
opment, as  nearly  as  can  be  observed,  in  the  following 
order :  The  ovum  is,  from  the  first,  enveloped  in  two  mem- 
branes, the  outer  of  which  is  called  the  chorion,  the  inner  the  amnion. 
Within  lies  the  principle  of  life,  the  germ  of  the  complex  being.  The 
ova  ot  all  the  higher  animals  are  alike  at  this  period,  and  one  cannot 
be  distinguished  from  another.  The  amnion  or  inner  membrane 
secretes  upon  its  inner  surface  the  liquid  in  which  the  fcetus  is  sus- 
spended  during  the  whole  period  of  gestation.  The  chorion  or  outef 
covering,  on  the  other  hand,  acts  outwardly,  throwing  out  vilK,  which^ 
gathered  at  one  point,  at  a  certain  period  unite  with  vessels  on  the 
inner  surface  of  the  uterus,  and  form  the  placenta  or  afterbirth,  by 
which  the  foetus  is  nourished  from  the  blood  of  the  mother. 

The  central  germinal  point  of  the  egg  and  its  two  coverings  form 
the  three  parts  of  a  regular  cell  formation — cell,  nucleus  and 
nucleolus. 

While  the  ovum  is  gradually  passing  down  the  Fallopian  tube,  pro- 
pelled by  the  action  of  its  ciliary  bodies,  a  journey  which  lasts  from 
eight  to  fourteen  days,  and  in  the  course  of  which  it  is  liable  to 
impregnation,  the  uterus  is  preparing  for  its  reception.  A  delicate 
secretion  is  poured  out  over  its  whole  internal  surface,  which  is  organ- 
ized into  a  membrane  called  the  decidua,  so  that  when  the  ovum  arrives 
140 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   FCETUS.  149 

icity  whatever,  they  may  of  this.  Time  is  one  of  the  elements  of  the 
universe,  whether  marked  by  the  beatings  of  the  heart  and  the  move- 
ments of  respiration  or  the  cycles  of  the  stars,  which  require  millions 
of  millions  of  years  for  their  completion. 

Regularities  of  action  and  consequent  accuracy  of  periods  are 
inherent  qualities  of  the  intelligent  soul  and  organic  life.  It  is  the 
organic  life  that  presides  over  the  development  of  the  foetus,  and 
fixes  the  time  for  its  expulsion.  But  this  organic  principle  is  not  a 
machine.  It  has  the  power,  for  good  reasons,  to  bring  on  the  process 
of  labor  earlier,  or  postpone  it  to  a  later  period. 

Time  Required  for  Gestation. 

The  normal  period  of  pregnancy  is  forty  weeks  or  nine  months, 
reckoning  from  the  last  menstrual  period.  But,  as  some  persons  have 
a  quicker  pulse  than  others,  so  in  some  the  vital  processes  may  be 
more  rapid.  There  are  also  diseased  irregularities  which  vary  the 
time.  Even  domestic  animals  vary  weeks  in  their  periods.  A  gesta- 
tion, even  in  a  tolerably  healthy  woman,  may  be  prolonged  two  of 
three  weeks,  and,  in  disease,  still  further.  On  the  other  hand,  it  ma} 
come  on  prematurely. 

There  have  been  cases  where  a  foetus  of  six  months  has  been  born 
and  lived,  but  seven  months  is  generally  considered  the  period  of  via- 
bility. At  this  time,  even  where  miscarriages  are  artificially  produced, 
it  is  said  that  two  children  out  of  three  live.  A  reasonable  man  may 
be  satisfied  of  the  legitimacy  of  his  child,  if  he  has  not  been  absent 
from  its  mother  more  than  seven  months  at  the  period  of  its  birth ;  and 
if  he  can  count  eight  months  from  his  first  connection  to  the  birth  of 
a  full-grown  infant,  he  has  no  reason  to  be  dissatisfied.  Seven  months 
children  are  said  to  occur  oftenest  in  a  first  pregnancy. 

There  is  no  probability,  we  might  say,  possibility,  that  when  the 
uterus  is  occupied  by  one  foetus,  and  all  avenues  to  the  ovaries  are 
blocked  up,  another  later  conception  can  take  place.  But  there  is  no 
reason  why  a  woman  may  not  have  twins  by  two  fathers,  who  have 
connection  with  her  at  nearly  the  same  time ;  and  there  are  several 


POSITION    OF    THE    CHILD    AT    BIRTH. 


150  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   FOETUS. 

cases  in  which  twins  have  been  born,  one  white  and  the  other  mulatto, 
Or  mulatto  and  black,  in  which  the  mother  avowed  that  such  a  state 
of  facts  existed.  In  the  same  way  a  litter  of  pups  may  be  sired  by 
several  males,  each  pup  bearing  a  resemblance  to  its  particular  father. 

Cases  of  Twins  or  More. 

This  brings  up  the  oft-agitated  question,  whether,  after  an  ovule 
has  been  impregnated  and  passed  down  into  the  cavity  of  the  uterus, 
another  ovule  may  not  be  fecundated ;  so  that  the  products  of  two 
conceptions  may  undergo  their  respective  developments  in  the  uterus, 
and  be  delivered  at  an  interval  corresponding  to  that  between  the  con- 
ceptions.     Many    physiologists    have 
believed  this  to  be  possible,  and  have 
given  it  the  name  vtsuperfoeiation.  The 
case,  cited  from  Sir  Everard  Home, 
of  a  young  female,  who  died  on  the 
seventh  or  eighth  day  after  conception, 
exhibits  that  the  mouth  of  the  womb 
is  at  an  early  period  completely  ob- 
structed   by    a    plug    of    impervious 
mucus,  and  that  the  inner  surface  of 
OVUM,  SHOWING  FORMATION  OF     the  uterus  is  lined  by  an  efflorescence 
AFTERBIRTH.  of  plastic  matter,  the  nature  of  which 

Is  well  known  to  the  student  of  physiology. 

When  such  a  change  has  been  effected,  it  would  seem  to  be  impos- 
sible for  the  male  sperm  to  reach  the  ovary;  and,  accordingly,  the 
general  belief  is,  that  superfoetation  is  only  practicable  prior  to  these 
changes,  and  where  there  is  a  second  vesicle  ripe  for  impregnation. 
Of  this  kind  of  superconception  or  superfecundation  it  is  probable 
that  twin  and  triplet  cases  are  often,  if  not  always,  examples;  one 
ovule  being  impregnated  at  one  copulation,  and  another  at  the  next. 
It  may  happen,  too,  that  although  two  ova  may  be  fecundated,  both 
embryos  may  not  undergo  equal  development.  One,  indeed,  may  be 
arrested  at  an  early  stage,  although  still  retaining  the  vital  force.  In 


152 


DEVELOPMENT    OF  THE    FCETUS. 


about  which  which  day  the  labor  might  occur,  will,  we  trust,  be  /bund 
very  useful.  This  table  allows  three  days  over  the  280  days — making 
283  days ;  that  is  to  say,  "  the  count  "  of  280  days  days  commences 
three  days  after  the  last  day  of  a  lady  being  "  unwell."  The  reason  we 
have  chosen  three  days  after  the  last  day  of  menstruation  is,  a  lady  is 
more  likely  to  conceive  a  few  days — say  three  days — after  the  last 
day  of  her  "periods"  than  at  any  other  time.  The  reckoning,  then, 
in  this  table  is  made  to  begin  from  the  last  day  of  "  her  periods  " — 
three  days  being  allowed  over  for  conception — thus  making  283  days 
from  the  last  day  of  "  the  periods  "  until  the  completion  of  the  preg- 
nancy on  or  about  which  day — the  283d  day — the  labor  is  likely  to 


occur. 


Last  Day  of 
Jan.          1  

Labor 
On  or  About 

....      Oct.  11 

Last  Day  of 
"  the  Periods." 
Jan.       27  ... 

Labor 
On  or  A  bout 

Nov      6 

"           2          .    .   . 

....        "12 

"         28 

"        7 

"           3  

....        "13 

29  

"       8 

"           4  

....        "14 

"         30      . 

"       9 

5  

....        "15 

31  

.   .    .            "10 

"           6  

....         "16 

Feb.        1 

"     11 

"          7  

....        "17 

"           2  .    . 

"     12 

"          8  

....        "18 

"           3  .       ... 

"     13 

"           9  ....   c 

....         "19 

"           4 

"     14 

10  

....        "20 

"           5  ... 

"     15 

11  ...... 

....        "21 

"           6 

"     16 

"         12  

....         "22 

7  ... 

(i     1  ~ 

13  

....        "23 

"           8 

"     18 

14  

....        "24 

"           9      .... 

"     19 

15  

....        "25 

"         10 

"     20 

16  .. 

....        "26 

"         11 

"     21 

17  

.'  .   .   .         "     27 

"         12 

"     22 

18  

....         "28 

"         13 

«•     23 

19  ..... 

....        "29 

"         14 

"     24 

20  

....         "30 

"         15 

"     25 

21  ..... 

"31 

"         16 

"     26 

22  

....     Nov.     1 

"         17 

"     27 

"         23  ... 

"2 

"         18 

"     28 

"         24  

....        "       3 

11         19      . 

"     29 

«         25  

"4 

"         20 

"     30 

26. 

5 

21  . 

Dec.     1 

158  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   FCETUS. 

she  has  gone  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  days ;  she  has, 
therefore,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  more  days  to  complete  the 
period  of  her  pregnancy. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  she  first  quickened  on  May  the  I7th, 
she  may  expect  to  be  confined  somewhere  near  October  the  23d.  She 
must  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  she  can  never  make  so  correct  a 
"count"  from  quickening  (quickening  taking  place  at  such  various 
periods)  as  from  the  last  day  of  her  "  periods." 

A  lady  is  occasionally  thrown  out  of  her  reckoning  by  the  appear- 
ance, the  first  month  after  she  is  enceinte,  of  a  little  "  show."  This 
discharge  does  not  come  from  the  womb,  as  that  organ  is  hermetically 
sealed  ;  but  from  the  upper  part  of  the  vagina — the  passage  to  the 
womb— and  from  the  mouth  of  the  womb,  and  may  be  known  from 
the  regular  menstrual  fluid  by  its  being  much  smaller  in  quantity,  by 
its  clotting  and  by  its  lasting  generally  but  a  few  hours.  This  dis- 
charge, therefore,  ought  not  to  be  reckoned  in  the  "  count,"  but  the 
"period  "  before  must  be  the  guide,  and  the  plan  should  be  adopte/ 
as  previously  recommended. 

"  Is  It  a  Boy  or  a  Girl  ? " 

It  has  frequently  been  asked  :  "  Can  a  medical  man  tell,  before  the 
child  is  born,  whether  it  will  be  a  boy  or  a  girl?"  Dr.  F.  J.  W. 
Packman  answers  in  the  affirmative.  "  Queen  bees  lay  female  eggs 
first,  and  male  eggs  afterwards.  In  the  human  female,  conception  in 
the  first  half  of  the  time  between  menstrual  periods  produces  female 
offspring,  and  male  in  the  latter.  When  a  female  has  gone  beyond 
the  time  she  calculated  upon,  it  will  generally  turn  out  to  be  a  boy." 
It  was  well  to  say  generally,  as  the  above  remarks,  as  we  have  had 
cases  to  prove,  are  not  invariably  to  be  depended  upon.  We  believe, 
notwithstanding,  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  Mr.  Packman's 
statement. 

Some  wiseacres  of  nurses  profess  themselves  to  be  very  clever  in 
foretelling,  some  months  before  the  babe  is  born,  whether  it  will  be  a 
boy  or  girl.  They  base  their  prognostications  on  some  such  grounds 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
PARTURITION,  OR  LABOR. 

First  Symptoms  of  Labor — "Grinding  Pains" — Shivering  Sensations — Stomach 
Sickness — Bearing  Down  and  Cramps — Labor  a  Natural  Process — Forced 
Assistance  Dangerous — Use  of  Instruments — Average  Time  of  Labor — The 
After-Pains — Three  Stages  of  Labor — Directions  to  Nurses — Position  of  the 
Patient— Costiveness— Use  of  Chloroform— What  If  the  Doctor  Is  Absent?— 
Stillbirths,  and  How  to  Treat  Them— The  Afterbirth— Clothing  After  Labor- 
Rest  and  Refreshment — Bandaging — The  Sick  Room — Attention  to  the 
Bladder — Treatment  for  the  Bowels — Ignorant  Nurses — Quietude  and  Employ- 
ment. 

AS  the  first  labor  is  generally  the  most  tedious  mid  the  most 
severe    of    any,    it    behooves    a    newly-married    woman    to 
''  hearken  unto  counsel,"  and  thus  to  prepare  for  the  coming 
event.     Strict  observance  of  the  advice  contained  in  these  pages  will 
often  make  a  first  labor  as  easy  and  as  expeditious  as  an   after-labor. 
But  observance  of  the  counsel  herein  contained  must  be  adopted,  not 
only  during  pregnancy,  but  likewise  during  the  whole  period — from 
the  very  commencement — of  wifehood. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  labor  commences  the  patient  usually  feels 
better  than  she  has  done  for  a  long  time  ;  she  is  light  and  comfortable ; 
she  is  smaller,  and  the  child  is  lower  down  ;  she  is  more  cheerful, 
breathes  more  freely,  and  is  more  inclined  to  take  exercise,  and  to 
attend  to  her  household  duties  ;  she  has  often  an  inclination  to  tidy 
her  drawers,  and  to  look  up  and  have  in  readiness  her  own  linen  and 
the  baby's  clothes,  and  the  other  requisites  for  the  long-expectec! 
event ;  she  seems  to  have  a  presentiment  that  labor  is  approaching, 
and  she  has  the  feeling  that  now  is  the  right  time  to  get  everything  in 
readiness,  as,  in  a  short  time,  she  will  be  powerless  to  exert  herself. 

Although  the  majority  of  patients,  a  day  or  two  before  the  labor 
cornes  on,  are  more  bright  and  cheerful,  some  few  are   more  anxious, 
fanciful,  fidgety  and  restless. 
160 


FCETAL    SURFACE    OF    THE    PLACENTA   (AFTERBIRTH). 


166  PARTURITION,    OR   LABOR. 

aid  was  indicated — that  is  to  say,  in  a  case,  for  instance,  where  the 
child  remained  for  some  hours  stationary  in  the  birth,  although  the 
pains  continued  intensely  strong  and  very  forcing.  Hence,  the 
importance,  in  midwifery,  of  employing  a  man  of  talent,  of  experi- 
ence, of  judgment  and  of  decision.  No  branch  of  the  profession 
requires  more  skill  than  that  of  an  accoucheur. 

The  first  confinement  is  generally  twice  the  length  of  time  of  an 
after  one,  and  usually  the  more  children  a  lady  has  had,  the  quicker 
is  her  labor ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  always  the  case,  as  some  of  the 
after-labors  may  be  the  tedious,  while  the  early  ones  may  be  the 
quick  ones.  It  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  too,  that  tedious  labors 
are  oftentimes  natural,  and  that  they  only  require  time  and  patience 
from  all  concerned  to  bring  them  to  a  successful  issue. 

Usual  Length  of  Time. 

It  may  be  said  that  a  first  labor,  as  a  rule,  lasts  six  hours,  while  an 
after-confinement  probably  lasts  but  three.  This  space  of  time,  of 
course,  does  not  usually  include  the  commencement  of  labor  pains  ; 
but  the  time  that  a  lady  may  be  actually  said  to  be  in  real  travail. 
If  we  are  to  reckon  from  the  commencement  of  the  labor,  we  ought 
to  double  the  above  numbers — that  is  to  say,  we  should  make  the 
average  duration  of  a  first  labor,  twelve ;  of  an  after  one,  six  hours. 

When  a  lady  marries  late  in  life — for  instance,  after  she  has  passed 
the  age  of  thirty — her  first  labor  is  usually  much  more  lingering, 
painful  and  tedious,  demanding  a  great  stock  of  patience  from  the 
patient,  from  the  doctor  and  from  the  friends  ;  notwithstanding  which, 
if  she  be  not  hurried  and  be  not  much  interfered  with,  both  she 
and  her  babe  generally  do  remarkably  well.  Supposing  a  lady  marries 
late  in  life,  it  is  only  the  first  confinement  that  is  usually  hard  and 
lingering  ;  the  after-labors  are  as  easy  as  though  she  had  marriecj 
when  young. 

Slo\\  labors  are  not  necessarily  dangerous;  on  the  contrary,  3 
patient  frequently  has,  a  better  and  more  rapid  recovery,  provided 
there  has  been  no  interference,  after  a  tedious  than  after  a  quick 


PARTURITION,    OR  LABOR.  167 

confinement — proving  beyond  doubt  that  nature  hates  hurry  ar.d 
interference.  It  is  an  old  saying,  and  we  believe  a  true  one,  that  a 
lying-in  woman  must  have  pain  either  before  or  after  her  labor;  and 
it  certainly  is  far  preferable  that  she  should  have  the  pain  and  suffering 
before  than  after  the  delivery  is  over. 

Results  Effected  by  After-Pains. 

It  is  well  for  a  patient  to  know  that,  as  a  rule,  after  a  first  confine 
ment,  she  never  has  after-pains.  This  is  some  consolation,  and  is  a 
kind  of  compensation  for  her  usually  suffering  more  with  her  first 
child.  The  after-pains  generally  increase  in  intensity  with  every 
additional  child.  The  after-pains  are  intended  by  nature  to  contract, 
to  reduce,  the  womb  somewhat  to  its  non-pregnant  size,  and  to  assist 
clots  in  coming  away,  and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  needlessly  inter- 
fered  with.  A  judicious  medical  man  will,  however,  if  the  pains  be 
very  severe,  prescribe  medicine  to  moderate,  not  to  stop,  them.  A 
doctor,  fortunately,  possesses  valuable  remedies  to  alleviate  the  after- 
pains. 

Nature,  beneficent  nature,  ofttimes  works  in  secret,  and  is  doing 
good  service  by  preparing  for  the  coming  event,  unknown  to  all 
around.  Pain,  in  the  very  earliest  stages  of  labor,  is  not  a  necessary 
attendant.  Although  pain  and  suffering  are  the  usual  concomitants 
of  childbirth,  there  are,  nevertheless,  well  authenticated  cases  on 
record  of  painless  parturition. 

The  Three  Stages  of  Labor. 

A  natural  labor  may  be  divided  into  three  stages.  The  first,  the 
premonitory  stage,  comprising  the  "falling"  or  subsidence  of  the 
womb,  and  the  "show."  The  second,  the  dilating  stage,  which  is 
known  by  the  pains  being  of  a  "grinding"  nature,  and  in  which  the 
mouth  of  the  womb  gradually  opens  or  dilates  until  it  is  sufficiently 
large  to  admit  the  exit  of  the  head  of  the  child,  when  it  becomes  the 
third,  the  completing  stage,  which  is  now  indicated  by  the  pains  being 
pf  a  "bearing-down,"  expulsive  character. 


UTERINE    SURFACE    OF    THE    PLACENTA   (  AFTERBIRTH)  ~ 


PARTURITION,    OR   LABOR.  171 

gladness."     "  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy."     Again  :  "  I 
was  in  misery,  and  he  helped  me." 

Joy  that  a  Child  is  Born. 

Tell  her,  too,  that  "  sweet  is  pleasure  after  pain,"  and  of  the  exqui- 
site happiness  and  joy  she  will  feel  as  soon  as  her  labor  is  over,  as, 
perhaps,  the  greatest  thrill  of  delight  a  woman  ever  experiences  in 
this  world  is  when  her  babe  is  first  born.  She,  as  if  by  magic,  forgets 
all  the  sorrow  and  suffering  she  has  endured.  Keble,  in  the  Christian 
Year,  well  observes  : 

"  Mysterious  to  all  thought, 

A  mother's  prime  of  bliss, 
When  to  her  eager  lips  is  brought 
Her  infant's  thrilling  kiss." 

How  beautifully,  too,  he  sings  of  the  gratitude  of  a  woman  to  God 
for  her  safe  delivery  from  the  perils  and  pangs  of  childbirth : 

"Only  let  heaven  her  fire  impart, 

No  richer  incense  breathes  on  earth  : 
'A  spouse  with  all  a  daughter's  heart,' 

Fresh  from  the  perilous  birth, 
To  the  great  Father  lifts  her  pale  glad  eye, 
Like  a  reviving  flower  when  storms  are  hushed  on  high." 

Chloroform  in  Hard  and  Lingering  Labor. 

Mothers  and  doctors  are  indebted  to  Sir  James  Simpson  for  the 
introduction  of  chloroform,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  valuable 
discoveries  ever  conferred  on  suffering  humanity. 

Dr.  Simpson,  on  first  propounding  the  theory  of  the  application  of 
chloroform  to  patients  requiring  surgical  aid,  was  stoutly  opposed  by 
certain  objectors,  who  held  that  to  check  the  sensation  of  pain  in  con- 
nection with  "  visitations  of  God"  was  to  contravene  the  decrees  of  an 
All-wise  Creator.  What  was  his  answer?  That  the  Creator,  during 
the  process  of  extracting  the  ribs  from  Adam,  must  necessarily  have 
adopted  a  somewhat  corresponding  artifice — "For  did  not  God  throw 
Adam  into  a  deep  sleep?"  The  Pietists  were  satisfied,  and  the  dis- 
coverer triumphed  over  ignoble  and  ignorant  prejudice. 


PARTURITION,    OR   LABOR.  175 

alone,  been  saved  from  threatened  death.     If  you  can  once  make  an 

apparently  still-born  babe  cry — and  cry  he  must — he  is,  as  a  rule,  safe. 

The  navel-string,  as  long  as  there  is  pulsation  in  it,  ought  not  to  be  tied. 

The  limbs,  the  back  and  the  chest  of  the  child  ought,  with  the 


POSITION    OF    TWINS    IN    THE    WOMB. 

warm  hand,  to  be  well  rubbed.  The  face  should  not  be  smothered  ir. 
the  clothes.  If  pulsation  have  ceased  in  the  navel-string  (the  above 
rules  having  been  strictly  followed,  and  having  failed),  let  the  navel- 
string  be  tied  and  divided,  and  then  let  the  child  be  plunged  into 
warm  water — 0,8°  Fahr,  If  the  sudden  plunge  does  not  rouse  res- 


UMBILICAL  CORD. 

PLACENTA. 

FCETUS    AT    NINE    MONTHS,    FULLY    DEVELOPED. 


PARTURITION,    OR   LABOR.  185 

another  bed  or  to  a  sofa  ;  which  other  bed  or  sofa  should  be  wheeled 
to  the  side  of  the  bed,  and  she  must  be  placed  on  it  by  two  assistants, 
one  taking  hold  of  her  shoulders  and  the  other  of  her  hips,  and  thus 
lifting  her  on  the  bed  or  sofa,  she  herself  being  perfectly  passive,  and 
not  being  allowed  to  sit  erect  the  while.  She  ought,  during  the  time 
she  is  on  the  sofa,  to  maintain  the  level  position. 

She  ought,  after  the  first  nine  days,  to  sit  up  for  an  hour ;  she 
should  gradually  prolong  the  time  of  the  sitting  up,  but  still  she  must, 
for  the  first  fortnight,  lie  down  a  great  part  of  every  day.  She 
should,  after  the  first  week,  lie  either  on  a  sofa  or  on  a  horse-hair 
mattress. 

Household    Employment. 

The  above  plan  may  appear  irksome,  but  experience  teaches  that  ii: 
is  necessary — absolutely  necessary.  The  old  saw,  after  a  confinement, 
is  well  worth  remembering  :  "  To  be  soon  well,  be  long  ill."  The 
benefit  the  patient  will  ultimately  reap  from  perfect  rest  and  quietude 
will  amply  repay  the  temporary  annoyance.  Where  the  above  rules 
have  not  been  adopted,  we  have  known  flooding,  bearing-down  of  the 
womb,  and  even  "  falling  "  of  the  womb,  frequent  miscarriages  and 
ultimately  ruin  of  the  constitution,  to  ensue. 

Some  persons  have  an  idea  that  a  wife,  for  some  months  after 
childbirth,  should  be  treated  as  an  invalid — should  lead  an  idle  life. 
This  is  an  error ;  for  all  people  in  the  world,  a  nursing  mother  should 
remember  that  "  employment  is  nature's  physician,  and  is  essential  to 
human  happiness."  The  best  nurses  and  the  healthiest  mothers,  as  a 
rule,  are  workingmen's,  wives,  who  are  employed  from  morning  until 
night — who  have  no  spare  time  unemployed  to  feel  nervous,  or  to 
make  complaints  of  aches  and  of  pains  or  pity  themselves  ;  indeed, 
so  well  does  "nature's  physician" — employment — usually  make 
them  feel,  that  they  have  really  no  aches  or  pains  at  all — either  real 
or  imaginary — to  complain  of,  but  are  hearty  and  strong,  happy  and 
contented ;  indeed,  the  days  are  too  short  for  them. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 
MISCARRIAGE. 

The  Young  Wife — Miscarriage  Can  Generally  be  Prevented — Necessity  of  Judicious 
Advice — -Penalties  of  Ignorance — Causes  of  Premature  Labor — Violence  of 
Every  Kind  to  be  Avoided — Threatening  Symptoms— Decided  Symptoms — 
Two  Stages — Time  of  Greatest  Danger — Flooding  Treatment  for  Miscarriage — 
Great  Care  Required — Sponge  and  Shower-baths — Separate  Sleeping  Apart- 
ment— Healthful  Exercise. 

IF  a  premature  expulsion  of  the  child  occur  before  the  end  of  the 
seventh  month,  it  is  called  either  a  miscarriage  or  an  abortion  ; 
if  between  the  seventh  month  and  before  the  full  period  of  nine 
months,  a  premature  labor.     A  premature  labor,  in  the  graphic  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible,  is  called  "  an  untimely  birth,"  and  "  untimely  "  in 
every    sense    of  the    word    it    truly    is.     "  Untimely "    for    mother ; 
"  untimely  "  for  doctor  ;  "  untimely  "  for  monthly  nurse  ;  "  untimely  " 
for  all  preconcerted  arrangements  ;  "  untimely"  for  child,  causing  him 
"  untimely "  death.     A  more  expressive  word  for  the  purpose  it  is 
impossible  to  find. 

There  is  a  proneness  for  a  young  wife  to  miscarry,  and  woe  betide 
her  if  she  once  establish  the  habit,  for  it,  unfortunately,  often  becomes 
a  habit.  A  miscarriage  is  a  serious  calamity,  and  should  be  considered 
in  that  light ;  not  only  to  the  mother  herself,  whose  constitution 
frequent  miscarriages  might  seriously  injure,  and  eventually  ruin,  but 
it  might  rob  the  wife  of  one  of  her  greatest  earthly  privileges,  the 
inestimable  pleasure  and  delight  of  being  a  mother. 

Now,  as  a  miscarriage  may  generally  be  prevented,  it  behooves  a 
wife  to  look  well  into  the  matter,  and  to  study  the  subject  thoroughly 
for  herself,  in  order  to  guard  against  her  first  miscarriage  ;  for  the 
first  miscarriage  is  the  one  that  frequently  leads  to  a  series.  How 
necessary  it  is  that  the  above  important  fact  should  be  borne  in  mine7 
How  much  misery  might  be  averted  ;  as  then  means  would,  by  avoid- 
ing the  usual  causes,  be  taken  to  ward  off  such  an  awful  calamity 


MISCARRIAGE.  187 

We  are  quite  convinced  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  miscarriages  may 
be  prevented. 

Necessity  of  Correct  Information. 

Hence  the  importance  of  a  popular  work  of  this  kind — to  point  out 
dangers,  to  give  judicious  advice,  that  a  wife  may  read,  ponder  over, 
and  "  inwardly  digest,"  and  that  she  may  see  the  folly  of  the  present 
practices  that  wives — young  wives  especially — usually  indulge  in,  and 
thus  that  she  may  avoid  the  rocks  they  split  on,  which  make  a  ship- 
wreck of  their  most  cherished  hopes  and  treasures.  How,  unless  a 
wife  be  taught,  can  she  gain  such  information  ?  That  she  can  know 
it  intuitively  is  utterly  impossible.  She  can  only  know  it  from  her 
doctor,  and  from  him  she  does  not  often  like  to  ask  such  questions. 

She  must,  therefore,  by  a  popular  work  of  this  kind  be  enlightened, 
or  loss  of  life  to  her  unborn  babe,  and  broken  health  to  herself,  will, 
in  all  probability,  be  the  penalties  of  her  ignorance.  It  is  utter  folly 
to  say  that  all  such  matters  should  be  left  entirely  to  the  doctor — the 
mischief  is  usually  done  before  he  is  consulted ;  besides,  she  herself  is 
the  right  person  to  understand  it,  as  she  herself  is  the  one  to  prevent 
it,  and  the  one,  if  it  be  not  prevented,  to  suffer.  How  many  a  broken 
constitution  and  an  untimely  end  have  resulted  from  the  want  of  such 
knowledge  as  is  contained  in  this  book.  It  is  perfectly  ridiculous  to 
assert  that  a  doctor  can,  in  a  few  minutes'  consultation,  thoroughly 
inform  a  pregnant  female  of  all  that  is  necessary  for  her  to  know  for 
the  prevention  of  a  miscarriage. 

Causes  and  Evils  of  Miscarriage. 

Let  it  then  be  thoroughly  understood — first,  that  a  miscarriage  is 
very  weakening — more  weakening  than  a  labor ;  and,  secondly,  that 
if  a  lady  once  miscarried,  she  is  more  likely  to  miscarry  again  and 
again,  until,  at  length,  her  constitution  be  broken,  and  the  chances  of 
her  having  a  child  become  small  indeed.  Woe  betide  such  an  one  if 
she  become  the  victim  of  such  a  habit. 

A  slight  cause  will  frequently  occasion  the  separation  of  the  child 
from  the  mother,  and  the  consequent  death  and  expulsion  of  the 


CHAPTER  XV. 
LACTATION,  OR  NURSING. 

Maternal  Cares  and  Duties— Nursing  a  Pleasure  to  the  True  Mother— Nursing 
Natural  and  Healthy— Best  Food  for  the  Child— Ailments  of  the  Breasts— Milk- 
Fever — Gatherings— Care  of  the  Nipples — Outward  Applications — Stated  Times 
for  Nursing — Danger  of  Overfeeding — Clothing  for  the  Mother — What  the 
Nursing  Mother  Should  Eat— How  Food  and  Drink  Affect  the  Mother- 
Variety  of  Diet  Recommended — Fits  of  Depression  —  Evils  of  Alcoholic 
Drinks — Benefits  of  Exercise  —  An  Amiable  Temper  —  Keeping  Mind  and 
Hands  Occupied— Work  a  Grand  Panacea — The  Menses  During  Nursing. 

MATERNAL  cares  and  duties  do  not  cease  with  labor,  with  the 
bringing  forth  of  a  child.  The  child  must  be  started  right, 
must  have  a  good  beginning  to  its  endless  career,  and  the 
mother  is  needed  every  moment  during  the  tender  years  of  infancy  as 
well  as  during  the  later  years  of  youth  and  coming  maturity.  A 
mother  ought  not,  unless  she  intend  to  devote  herself  to  her  baby, 
to  undertake  to  suckle  him.  She  must  make  up  her  mind  to  forego 
the  so-called  pleasures  of  a  fashionable  life.  There  ought,  in  a  case  of 
this  kind,  to  be  no  half-and-half  measures  ;  she  should  either  give  up 
her  helpless  babe  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  wet-nurse,  or  she  must 
devote  her  whole  time  and  energy  to  his  welfare — to  the  greatest 
treasure  that  God  hath  given  her. 

If  a  mother  be  blessed  with  health  and  strength,  and  if  she  have  a 
good  breast  of  milk,  it  is  most  unnatural  and  very  cruel  for  her  not  to 
suckle  her  child  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  great  satisfaction,  and  every 
true  mother  will  so  regard  it.  She  will  sympathize  with  these  lines 
of  the  poet  Rogers  : 

The  hour  arrives,  the  moment  wished  and  feared  ; 
The  child  is  born,  by  many  a  pang  endeared ! 
And  now  the  mother's  ear  has  caught  his  cry — 
Oh  !  grant  the  cherub  to  her  asking  eye  ! 
He  comes — she  clasps  him  ;  to  her  bosom  pressed 
He  drinks  the  balm  of  life,  and  (Jrops  to  rest, 

194 


LACTATION,    OR   NURSING.  197 

Some  old  nurses  recommend  a  mother  to  partly  nurse  and  to  partly 
feed  a  new-born  babe.  Now,  this  is  a  mistake  ;  there  is  nothing  like, 
for  the  first  few  months — for  the  first  four  or  five — bringing  up  the 
child  on  the  mother's  milk,  and  on  the  mother's  milk  alone.  After 
the  first  four  or  five  months,  if  the  mother  should  not  have  enough 
milk,  then  a  little  artificial  food  might  be  given.  Ponder  well,  there- 
fore, before  it  be  too  late,  on  what  we  have  said — health  of  mother 
and  health  of  babe,  human  life  and  human  happiness  are  at  stake,  and 
depend  upon  a  true  decision. 

The  Breast  and   Its  Ailments. 

As  soon  as  the  patient  has  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of  her  labor — 
that  is  to  say,  in  about  four  or  six  hours — attention  ought,  more  especially 
in  a  first  confinement,  to  be  paid  to  breasts.  In  a  first  confinement 
there  is,  until  the  third  day,  but  very  little  milk  ;  although  there  is 
usually  on  that  day,  and  for  two  or  three  days  afterwards,  a  great  deal 
of  swelling,  of  hardness,  of  distention,  and  uneasiness  of  the  breasts  ; 
in  consequence  of  which,  in  a  first  confinement,  both  care  and  attention 
are  needed. 

Not  only  so,  but  there  is  frequently,  at  this  time,  a  degree 
of  feverishness ;  which,  in  some  cases,  is  rather  severe,  amount- 
ing even  to  what  is  called  milk-fever.  Now,  milk-fever,  if  circumspec- 
tion and  pains  be  not  taken  to  prevent  it,  may  usher  in  a  bad  gathered 
breast.  If  there  be  milk  in  the  breasts,  which  may  be  readily 
ascertained  by  squeezing  the  nipple  between  the  finger  and  the  thumb, 
the  infant  should  at  first  be  applied,  not  frequently,  as  some  do,  but  at 
considerable  intervals,  say  until  the  milk  be  properly  secreted,  every 
four  hours  ;  when  the  milk  flows,  the  child  ought  to  be  applied  more 
frequently,  but  still  at  stated  times. 

The  child  ought  never  to  be  allowed  to  be  put  to  the  nipple  until  it 
be  first  satisfactorily  ascertained  that  there  be  really  milk  in  the  bosom  ; 
neglect  of  this  advice  has  caused  many  a  gathered  breast,  and  has 
frequently  necessitated  the  weaning  of  the  child. 

To  wash   away  any  viscid  mucus   from  the  nipple,  or   any    stale 


LACTATION,  OR  NURSING. 


199 


to  drink  much  fluid,  as  it  would  only  encourage  a  larger  secretion  of 
milk.  The  size  of  the  bosoms  under  the  above  management  will  in 
two  or  three  days  decrease,  all^pain  will  cease,  and  the  infant  will,  with 
ease  and  comfort  take  the  breast. 

If  the  breasts  are  tolerably  comfortable  (which  in  the  second  and  in 
succeeding  confinements  they  probably  will  be),  let  nothing  be  done 


MILK-DUCTS    IN    THE    HUMAN    MAMMA. 

to  them,  except  as  soon  as  the  milk  comes,  at  regular  intervals,  apply- 
ing the  child  alternately  to  each  of  them.  Many  a  bosom  has  been 
made  uncomfortable,  irritable,  swollen,  and  even  has  sometimes 
gathered,  by  the  nurse's  interference  and  meddling.  Meddlesome 
nursing  is  bad,  and  we  are  quite  sure  that  meddlesome  breast-tending 
is  equally  so.  A  nurse,  in  her  wisdom,  fancies  that  by  rubbing,  by 
pressing,  by  squeezing,  by  fingering,  by  liniment,  and  by  drawing,  that 


200  LACTATION,  OR  NURSING. 

she  does  great  good,  while  in  reality,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  by  such 
interference  she  does  great  harm. 

Too  Much    Interference  by  Nurses. 

The  child  will,  in  second  and  in  succeeding  confinements,  as  a  rule, 
be  the  best  and  the  only  doctor  the  bosoms  require.  We  are  quite 
convinced,  that,  in  a  general  way,  nurses  interfere  too  much,  and  that 
the  bosoms  in  consequence  suffer.  It  is,  of  course,  the  doctor's  and 
not  the  nurse's  province,  in  such  matters,  to  direct  the  treatment ; 
while  it  is  the  nurse's  duty  to  fully  carry  out  the  doctor's  instructions. 

There  is  nothing,  in  our  opinion,  that  more  truly  tells  whether  a 
nurse  he  a  good  one  or  otherwise,  than  by  the  way  she  manages  the 
breasts,  A  good  nurse  is  judicious,  and -obeys  the  medical  man's 
orders  to  the  very  letter,  while  on  the  other  hand,  a  bad  nurse  acts  on 
her  own  judgment,  and  is  always  quacking,  interfering,  and  fussing 
with  the  breast,  and  doing  on  the  sly  what  she  dare  not  do  openly. 
Such  conceited,  meddlesome  nurses  are  to  be  studiously  avoided ;  they 
often  cause,  from  their  meddlesome  ways,  the  breasts  to  gather. 

Let  the  above  advice  be  borne  in  mind,  and  much  trouble,  misery, 
and  annoyance  might  be  averted.  Nature,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
manages  these  things  much  better  than  any  nurse  possibly  can  do, 
and  does  not  as  a  rule,  require  helping.  The  breasts  are  sadly  too 
much  interfered  and  messed  with  by  nurses,  and  by  nurses  who  are  in 
other  respects  tolerably  good  ones.  No  ;  nature  is  usually  best  left 
alone  :  she  works  in  secret,  deftly  and  well,  and  resents  interference-- 
more  especially  in  the  cases  we  have  just  described.  Nature,  then,  is 
generally  best  left  alone.  Nature  is  God's  vicegerent  here  upon  earth ; 
or,  as  Chaucer  beautifully  expresses  it — 

"  Nature,  the  vicar  of  the  Almighty  lyord.  " 

Milk-fever,  or  Weed. 

The  lying-in  patient  is  liable  a  few  days — generally  on  the  third 
day  after  her  confinement — while  the  milk  is  about  being  secreted — 
to  a  feverish  attack,  called  milk-fever,  or  weed,  or  ephemeral  fever,  and 


LACTATION,    OR   NURSING.  205 

vary  her  diet ;  let  her  ring  the  changes  on  boiled  and  stewed,  OK 
grilled  and  roast  meats  ;  on  mutton  and  lamb  and  beef;  on  chicken 
and  game  and  fish ;  on  vegetables,  potatoes  and  turnips  ;  greens  arid 
cauliflower ;  on  asparagus  and  peas  (provided  they  be  young  and 
well-boiled),  and  Lima  beans.  The  maxim  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  reference  to  the  materials  of  human  food  is  mixture  and  variety— a 
maxim  founded  upon  man's  omnivorous  nature.  Animal  and  vege- 
table substances,  soups  and  solid  meat,  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl,  in  com- 
bination or  succession,  ought  to  form  the  dietary  of  every  household 

Common  Sense  the  Best  Guide. 

But  what  we  object  to  a  nursing  mother  taking  are  :  gross  meats, 
such  as  goose  and  duck;  highly-salted  beef;  shellfish,  such  as  lob- 
ster and  crab  ;  rich  dishes  ;  highly-seasoned  soup ;  pastry,  unless  it 
be  plain ;  and  cabbages  and  pickles,  if  found  to  disagree  with  the 
babe,  and  with  any  other  article  of  food  which  is  either  rich,  or  gross, 
or  indigestible,  and  which,  from  experience,  she  has  found  to  disagree 
either  with  herself  or  with  her  child.  It  will,  therefore,  be  seen,  from 
the  above  catalogue,  that  our  restrictions  as  to  diet  are  limited,  and 
are,  we  hope,  founded  both  on  reason  and  on  common  sense,  which 
ought  to  be  the  guides  and  councillors  of  every  nursing  mother,  and 
of  everyone  else  besides. 

A  nursing  mother  is  subject  to  thirst ;  when  such  be  the  case,  she 
ought  not  to  fly  either  to  beer  or  to  wine  to  quench  it  ;  this  will  only 
add  fuel  to  the  fire.  The  best  beverages  will  be  either  toast  and  water, 
milk  and  water,  barley-water  and  new  milk  (in  equal  proportion),  or 
black  tea,  either  hot  or  cold  ;  cold  black  tea  is  a  good  quencher  of 

thirst. 

Mental  Depression  and  How  to  Treat  It. 

A  lady  who  is  nursing  is  at  times  liable  to  fits  of  depression.  Let 
us  strongly  urge  the  importance  of  her  abstaining  from  wine  and  from 
all  other  stimulants  as  a  remedy  ;  they  would  only  raise  for  a  time  her 
spirits,  and  then  would  depress  them  in  an  increased  ratio.  Either  a 
drive  in  the  country,  or  a  short  walk,  or  a  cup  of  tea,  or  a  chat  with  a 


MALE  AND  FEMALE  FORMS  CONTRASTED. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
WEANING  THE  CHILD. 

Best  Time  for  Weaning— Effects  of  Prolonged  Nursing— The  Mother's  Health  to 
be  Considered— Knock-kneed  and  Rickety  Children— Weaning  Gradually— 
Applications  for  the  Nipples — Aloes  and  Wormwood — Drying  up  the  Milk — 
Preparations  for  Reducing  Full  Breasts — Symptoms  Denoting  the  Necessity  of 
Weaning — Delicate  Mothers — Return  of  the  Menses — Wet  Nurses — Inflamma- 
tion and  How  to  Treat  It — Infectious  Diseases — Stimulants  to  be  Avoided. 

rjAHERE  is  an  old  saying,  "  that  a  woman  should  carry  her  child 
J^  nine  months,  and  should  suckle  him  nine  months."  It  is  well 
known  that  the  first  part  of  the  old  adage  is  correct,  and  experi- 
ence has  proved  the  latter  to  be  equally  so.  If  a  babe  be  weaned 
before  he  be  nine  months,  he  loses  that  muscular  strength  which  the 
breast-milk  alone  can  give ;  if  he  be  suckled  after  he  be  nine  months, 
he  becomes  pallid,  flabby,  weak,  and  delicate.  It  is  generally  recog- 
nized that  the  healthiest  children  are  those  weaned  at  nine  months 
complete.  Prolonged  nursing  hurts  both  child  and  mother :  in  the 
child,  causing  a  tendency  to  brain  disease,  probably  through  disordered 
digestion  and  nutrition  ;  in  the  mother,  causing  a  strong  tendency  to 
deafness  and  blindness.  It  is  a  very  singular  fact,  to  which  it  is  desira- 
ble that  attention  were  paid,  that  in  those  districts  of  Scotland — 
namely,  the  Highlands  and  insular — where  the  mothers  suckle  their 
infants  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  months,  deaf-dumbness  and  blind- 
ness prevail  to  a  very  much  larger  extent  among  the  people  than  in 
districts  where  nine  or  ten  months  is  the  usual  limit  of  the  nursing 

period. 

The  Time  When  an  Infant  Should  be  Weaned. 

This,  of  course,  must  depend  upon  the  strength  of  the  child,  and 
upon  the  health  of  the  mother :  nine  months  on  an  average  being  the 
proper  time.  If  she  be  delicate,  it  may  be  found  necessary  to  wean 
him  at  six  months ;  or  if  he  be  weak,  or  laboring  under  any  disease, 
it  may  be  well  to  continue  suckling  him  for  twelve  months  ;  but  after 
212 


WEANING   THE   CHILD. 

that  time  the  breast  will  do  him  more  harm  than  good,  and  will,  more- 
over, injure  the  mother's  health. 

If  he  be  suckled  after  he  be  twelve  months  old,  he  is  generally  pale, 
flabby,  unhealthy,  and  rickety  ;  and  the  mother  is  usually  nervous, 
emaciated,  and  hysterical.  A  child  who  is  suckled  beyond  the  proper 
time,  more  especially  if  there  be  any  predisposition,  sometimes  dies 
either  of  water  on  the  brain,  or  of  consumption  of  the  lungs,  or  of 
mesenteric  disease. 

A  child  nursed 'beyond  twelve  months  is  very  apt,  if  he  should  live, 
to  be  knock-kneed,  and  bow-legged,  and  weak-ankled — to  be  narrow- 
chested  and  chicken-breasted — to  be,  in  point  of  fact,  a  miserable  little 
object.  All  the  symptoms  just  enumerated  are  those  of  rickets,  and 
rickets  are  damaging  and  defacing  to  "  the  human  form  devine." 
Rickets  are  a  very  common  complaint  among  children — nearly  all 
arising  from  bad  management — from  hygienic  rules  not  being  either 
understood  or  followed.  There  are  many  degrees  of  rickets,  ranging 
from  bow-legs  and  knock -knees  to  a  crooked  spine — to  a  humpback 

f  ;v..    How  a  Mother  Should  Wean  Her  Child. 

She  must,  as  the  word  signifies,  do  it  gradually — that  is  to  say,  she 
should  by  degrees  give  him  less  and  less  of  the  breast,  and  more  and 
more'  of  artificial  food;  she  ought  at  length  only  to  suckle  him  at 
night,  and  lastly,  it  would  be  well  for  the  mother  either  to  send  him 
away  or  to  leave  him  at  home,  and  for  a  few  days  go  away  herself. 

A  good  plan  is  for  the  nurse  to  have  in  the  bed  a  half-pint  bottle  of 
new  milk,  which,  to  prevent  it  from  turning  sour,  had  been  previously 
boiled,  so  as  to  give  a  little  to  the  child  in  lieu  of  the  breast.  The 
warmth  of  the  body  will  keep  the  milk  of  a  proper  temperature,  and 
will  supersede  the  use  of  lamps,  of  candle-frames  and  other  trouble- 
some contrivances.  If  the  mother  be  not  able  to  leave  home  herself, 
or  to  send  her  child  from  home,  she  ought  then  to  let  him  sleep  in 
another  room,  with  some  responsible  person — we  say  responsible 
person,  for  a  babe  must  not  be  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  giggling, 
thoughtless,  young  girl. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
AILMENTS  OF  THE  MAMMAE,  OR  BREASTS. 

Small  Nipples — Bad  Effects  of  Pressure  on  the  Breasts — Nipple-Shields,  and  How 
to  Use  Them — Best  Applications — Cracked  Nipples — Poor  Supply  of  Milk- 
Applying  Friction  to  the  Breasts — Gatherings,  and  How  Treated — Correct 
Position  in  Nursing — Sources  of  Inflammation — Sucking  an  Bmpty  Breast — 
Permanent  Injuries — Shivering  Fits — Fainting  Spells — Mother  Not  Strong 
Enough  for  the  Child — Aperients  During  Nursing — Virtues  of  Brown  Bread — 
Practice  of  Eating  Honey  and  X^ruit  Jams — Use  of  Tea  and  Coffee — Evils  of 
Constantly  Dosing  with  Medicine. 

A  GOOD  nipple  is  important  both  to  the  comfort  of  the  mother 
and  to  the  well-doing  of  the  child.  One,  among  many,  of  the 
ill  effects  of  stays  and  of  corsets  is  the  pushing-in  of  the 
nipples  ;  sore  nipples  and  consequent  suffering  are  the  result.  More- 
over, a  mother  thus  circumstanced  may  be  quite  unable  to  suckle  her 
infant,  and  then  she  will  be  severely  punished  for  her  ignorance  and 
folly ;  she  will  be  compelled  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  nursing  her 
own  children.  Ladies  who  never  wear  stays  have  much  better 
nipples,  and  more  fully-developed  bosoms  ;  hence  such  mothers  are 
more  likely  to  make  better  nurses  to  their  babes.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  pressure  of  the  stays  on  the  bosom  tends  both  to  waste  away 
the  gland  of  the  breast  (where  the  milk  is  secreted),  and  to  cause  the 
nipple  either  to  dwindle  or  to  be  pushed  in,  and  thus  to  sadly  inter- 
fere with  its  functions.  We  would  strongly  advise  every  mother  who 
has  daughters  old  enough  to  profit  by  it,  to  bear  this  fact  in  mind,  and 
thus  to  prevent  mischief  when  mischief  might  be  prevented,  by  not 
allowing  them,  when  young,  to  wear  corsets. 

Treatment  of  Very  Small  and  Drawn-in  Nipples. 

The  babe  ought  to  nurse  through  some  good  nipple-shield, 
approved  by  your  doctor.  We  have  known  many  mothers  able  to 
suckle  their  children  with  this  invention,  who  otherwise  would  have 
been  obliged  either  to  have  weaned  them,  or  to  have  procured  the 

219 


AILMENTS  OF  THE  BREASTS.  229 

In  many  cases  honey — pure  honey — is  most  welcome  and  beneficial 
to  the  human  economy.  It  is  recommended  to  be  occasionally  eaten 
in  lieu  of  butter  for  breakfast.  Butter,  in  some  localities,  and  in  some 
seasons  of  the  year,  is  far  from  good  and  wholesome.  One  of  the 
qualities  of  honey  is,  it  frequently  acts  as  an  aperient. 

A  Corrective  Diet. 

The  Germans  are  in  the  habit  of  eating  for  breakfast  and  for  tea  a 
variety  of  fruit  jams  instead  of  butter  with  their  bread.  Now,  if  the 
bowels  be  costive,  jam  is  an  excellent  substitute  for  butter ;  and  so  is 
honey.  The  Scotch,  too,  scarcely  ever  sit  down  either  to  breakfast  or 
to  tea  without  there  being  a  pot  of  marmalade  on  the  table.  Ameri- 
can ladies,  in  this  matter,  may  well  take  a  leaf  out  of  the  books  of  the 
Germans  and  of  the  Scotch. 

A  tumblerful  of  cold  spring  water,  taken  early  every  morning, 
sometimes  effectually  relieves  the  bowels ;  indeed,  few  people  know 
the  value  of  cold  water  as  an  aperient — it  is  one  of  the  best  we  pos- 
sess, and,  unlike  drug  aperients,  can  never  by  any  possibility  do  harm. 
We  beg  to  call  a  mother's  especial  attention  to  the  fact  of  water  being 
an  admirable  aperient  for  children  ;  for  if  our  views  in  the  matter  be, 
to  the  very  letter,  carried  out,  much  drugging  of  children  may  be 
saved — to  their  enduring  and  inestimable  benefit.  But  the  misfortune 
of  it  is,  some  mothers  are  so  very  fond  of  quacking  their  children, 
that  they  are  never  happy  but  when  they  are  physicking  them.  The 
children  of  such  mothers  are  deeply  to  be  pitied. 

Effects  of  Tea  and   Coffee. 

Coffee  ought  to  be  substituted  for  tea  for  breakfast,  as  coffee 
frequently  acts  as  an  aperient,  more  especially  if  the  coffee  be  sweetened 
with  brown  sugar.  We  would  strongly  recommend  a  patient  to  eat 
a  great  variety  of  food,  and  to  let  the  vegetable  element  predominate. 
Much  meat  encourages  constipation.  Fruit — Muscatel  raisins  espe- 
cially— farinaceous  food,  coffee,  and  a  variety  of  vegetables,  each  and 
all  incite  the  bowels  to  do  their  duty. 


THE    HEART    AND    LUNGS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
DISEASES  PECULIAR  TO  WOMEN. 

Chlorosis,  or  Green  Sickness — Symptoms  and  Treatment — Suppression  of  the 
Menses — Promoting  the  General  Health  -Fresh  Air  and  Exercise — Pleasant 
Recreation — Profuse  Menstruation — Causes  and  Treatment — Proper  Diet — Best 
Tonics — Leucorrhcea,  or  Whites — Indications  of  Inflammation— Baths  and 
Injections — Location  of  the  Disease — Falling  of  the  Womb — How  Caused — 
Remedies — Change  of  Life — Peculiarities  of  the  Transition — Inflammation  of 
the  Breasts — Remedies  to  be  Employed — Heartburn,  Etc. — Constipation  of 
Pregnancy — Toothache  During  Pregnancy — Varicose  Veins — Urinary  Difficul- 
ties— Secretion  of  Milk — Milk  Fever — Puerperal  Fever. 

/CHLOROSIS,  or  green  sickness,  is  a  disease  which  occurs  exclu- 
y^  sively  among  females,  chiefly  between  the  ages  of  thirteen  and 
twenty-four,  seldom  at  a  later  period ;  if  it  does,  it  can  be 
traced  to  secondary  disturbances,  such  as  confinements  of  young 
women,  coming  rapidly  one  after  another,  more  especially  if  the 
women  nurse  their  own  children. 

The  disease  sometimes  breaks  out  previous  to  the  first  appearance 
of  the  menses,  more  frequently  after  several  menstrual  periods ;  as  an 
entirely  primary  disease,  it  only  breaks  out  among  unmarried  women. 
It  is,  in  some  degree,  hereditary ;  females  of  a  pale  complexion  are 
more  liable  to  be  attacked  with  it ;  though  no  constitution  is  exempt 
from  the  disease,  although  delicate  individuals  with  irritable  nerves  are 
more  susceptible  to  it.  Among  other  causes,  we  may  mention : 
insufficient  exercise,  mental  exertions,  without  corresponding  muscular 
activity ;  excitement  of  the  fancy,  especially  when  caused  by  novel 
reading ;  excitement  of  the  sexual  instinct  by  onanism,  improper  con- 
verse with  the  other  sex ;  deprivation  of  the  open  air,  and  interference 
with  the  free  expansion  of  the  chest  by  tight  dresses.  Chlorosis  is 
very  commonly  met  with  among  daughters  of  a  tuberculous  or  con- 
sumptive mother. 

This  disease  generally  comes  on  very  slowly,  the  patients  become 
more  irritable,  they  are  apt  to  get  tired  after  every  little  effort,  .they 
232 


DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN.  233 

are  liable  to  changes  of  color,  the  skin  soon  loses  its  bright  lustre,  and 
the  patient  complains  of  feeling  chilly  at  an  early  period  of  the  dis- 
ease. Inasmuch  as  the  disease  may  be  characterized  by  a  variety  of 
symptoms,  we  will  describe  the  derangements  as  they  appear  in  each 
special  organ  and  system. 

External  and  Internal    Symptoms. 

The  skin  at  times  has  the  color  of  wax ;  at  other  times  it  is  rathei 
yellowish,  or  of  a  dingy  white,  the  veins  being  either  not  at  all  per- 
ceptible, or  but  indistinctly  so  ;  the  color  of  the  cheeks  may  change 
quite  often,  within  a  very  brief  period  of  time,  The  visible  mucous 
membranes  are  more  or  less  without  color.  Swelling  of  the  feet  and 
limbs  sometimes  occur,  but  only  in  the  highest  grades  of  the  disease. 

The  following  symptoms  occur  in  the  digestive  range  :  impaired 
appetite,  aversion  to  meat,  longing  for  strange  articles  of  diet,  such  as 
vinegar,  chalk,  coffee,  beans ;  bloating  of  the  stomach  after  every 
meal,  sourness  of  the  stomach,  and  generally  the  bowels  are  very 
torpid. 

In  the  nervous  system  we  discover  excessive  irritability,  neuralgia, 
hysteric  symptoms,  fitful  mood.  The  breathing  is  accelerated,  the 
least  physical  exertion  causes  dyspnoea  (shortness  of  breath),  some- 
times to  a  very  high  degree.  The  circulation  is  accelerated,  very 
seldom  retarded ;  disposition  to  palpitations  of  the  heart,  which  are 
easily  excited  by  a  physical  effort.  The  menses  are  irregular,  some- 
times entirely  suppressed,  or  very  tardy,  sometimes  more  profuse  than 
usual,  but  always  of  a  lighter  color,  or  even  quite  colorless. 

Heart  "Weakness  and  Palpitation. 

Accompanying  these  symptoms  are  pains  of  the  most  diversified 
kind,  very  generally  uterine  catarrh.  The  urine  has  a  strikingly  pale 
color.  The  patients  generally  sleep  very  soundly,  and  have  to  sleep 
a  long  time,  though  sleep  never  refreshes  them. 

One  or  the  other  of  these  derangements  is  generally  wanting.  The 
one  characteristic  symptom  is  never  absent :  dyspnoea  and  palpitation 


THE    HEART   AND    LUNGS,    SHOWING    THE    BLOOD-VESSELS    IN    THE    LUNGS: 
THE    RUPTURE    OF   ANY    ONE    MAY    CAUSE    SPITTING    OF    BLOOD. 


236  DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN. 

SUPPRESSION  OR  DELAY  OF  THE  MENSES. 

This  suppression  either  takes  place  during  the  flow,  or  in  conse- 
quence of  causes  acting  previous  to  the  actual  appearance.  In  the 
former  case  a  cold  may  have  operated ;  or  cold  washing  may  be  the 
cause,  or  the  feet  may  have  got  chilled,  or  the  patient  may  not  have 
been  sufficiently  protected  by  her  clothes  ;  mental  or  moral  emotions, 
vexations,  chagrin,  anger,  fright,  or  dancing,  sexual  intercourse, 
dietetic  transgressions  may  have  led  to  the  suppression. 

Most  of  these  causes,  if  operating  shortly  before  the  time  when  the 
menses  were  to  come  on,  may  cause  their  retention.  A  gradual  sup- 
pression of  the  catamenia  may  take  place  in  consequence  of  deficient 
nutrition,  as  well  as  of  the  abuse  of  warm  beverages. 

The  more  sudden  the  suppression  of  the  menses,  the  more  violent 
the  changes  arising  from  such  an  occurrence.  Some  of  the  most 
prominent  symptoms  are  :  Violent  headache,  great  anxiety  and 
oppression  of  breathing,  nose-bleed,  spitting  of  blood,  congestions  of 
the  head,  heart,  and  lungs,  and  the  like.  In  some  cases,  a  suppression 
of  this  kind  gives  rise  to  acute  uterine  catarrh. 

If  a  physician  is  called  in  time,  he  will,  of  course,  inquire  what  gave 
rise  to  the  trouble,  and  will  seek  to  remove  the  consequences  of  fright, 
mortification,  anger,  etc.,  by  appropriate  specific  remedies.  If  the 
physician  is  not  called  until  some  time  after  the  morbid  symptoms 
have  existed,  the  aforesaid  remedies  will  no  longer  be  applicable,  and 
the  constitutional  condition  generally  will  have  to  be  acted  upon  by 
corresponding  remedies,  and  you  should  follow  the  same  course  as  a 
physician. 

The  Best  Treatment. 

If  the  menstrual  flow  (menses)  never  has  appeared,  and  the  patient 
is  strong  and  healthy,  and  there  is  no  menstrual  molimen  (symptoms 
or  sensations  of  menstruation),  it  is  not  prudent  to  resort  to  any  inter- 
ference. Every  means  should  be  employed  to  strengthen  and  invig- 
orate the  system.  The  body,  rather  than  the  mental  faculties,  should 
be  exercised,  Life  in  the  open  air,  and  tonics  containing  iron,  should 


DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN.  241 

fullness  of  blood,  determination  of  blood  to  the  head,  violent  throb- 
bing of  the  arteries  of  the  head  and  neck,  and  nose-bleed.  Dose  :  As 
directed  for  Pulsatilla. 

PROFUSE    MENSTRUATION. 

The  quantity  of  the  menstrual  discharge  varies  a  great  deal  in 
different  individuals.  The  climate,  constitution,  and  manner  of  living, 
have  considerable  influence.  The  duration  of  the  discharge,  and  the 
periods  of  return,  are  also  varied.  In  some  women  it  continues  from 
four  to  ten  days,  while  in  others  it  lasts  only  a  few  hours  ;  from  three 
to  six  days  is,  however,  the  most  usual  period.  The  regularity  is,  in 
many  cases,  exact  to  a  day,  or  even  an  hour ;  while  in  others,  a  varia- 
tion of  several  days  is  a  usual  occurrence,  without  the  slightest 
disturbance  in  the  usual  health  resulting  therefrom. 

An  excess  of  loss  of  menstrual  blood,  a  true  menorrhagia,  does  not 
occur  as  often  as  it  may  seem  to  those  who  complain  of  it.  To  con- 
stitute menorrhagia,  several  circumstances  have  to  occur  that  require 
to  be  carefully  discriminated.  The  average  of  discharged  blood  has 
to  exceed  the  ordinary  loss  quite  considerably ;  and  then,  again,  we 
have  to  inquire  whether  the  scantiness  of  the  ordinary  menstrual  flow 
is  not  an  abnormal  diminution  in  the  present  case. 

The  menstrual  flow  is  likewise  considered  too  copious  if  it  continues 
beyond  the  ordinary  period,  although  this  need  not  necessarily  imply 
that  the  menses  are  profuse.  It  is,  therefore,  the  morbid  character  of 
the  menses  that  is  necessary  to  determine  the  disorder,  for  a  copious 
flow  of  the  menses  cannot  be  considered  abnormal  as  long  as  the 
constitutional  harmony  is  in  no  respect  disturbed  by  it. 

The   Common   Causes. 

The  causes  of  profuse  menstruation  are  quite  numerous,  of  which 
it  may  be  best  to  make  mention  of  a  few  :  Excess  is  occasioned  by 
onanism,  novel-reading,  a  constant  dwelling  of  the  fancy  upon  sexual 
things,  and  the  habitual  use  of  heating  beverages.  A  few  other  im- 
portant points  have  to  be  added :  Under  certain  circumstances,  a  pro- 


THE    LARGE    INTESTINES    AND    MUSCLES    OF    THE    THIGHS. 


DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN.  245 

LEUCORRHCEA— WHITES. 

Simple  catarrh  is  one  of  the  most  common  derangements  of  the 
female  sex.  It  originates  in  a  variety  of  causes.  In  the  first  place, 
we  have  to  mention  as  exciting  causes,  such  as  act  directly  upon  the 
sexual  organs — excessive  coition  and  self-abuse,  miscarriage,  and  to 
some  extent  confinements,  which,  if  occurring  in  too  rapid  succession, 
almost  always  cause  leucorrhcea,  especially  when,  after  the  last-named 
causes,  the  patient  persists  in  getting  about  too  soon. 

The  influence  of  cold,  damp  weather,  or  exposure  to  cold  and  damp 
from  the  location  of  the  residence  in  a  marshy  district,  or  perhaps  the 
nature  of  the  house  itself  (stone,  with  walls  constantly  moist  on  their 
inner  surface),  and  from  water  standing  in  the  cellar,  especially  when 
long  continued,  is  a  powerful  promoter  of  leucorrhcea. 

Symptoms  of  Inflammation. 

An  entire  opposite,  but  not  less  numerous  class  of  causes  of  this 
disease,  may  be  found  in  the  high  living,  stimulating  spices,  condi- 
ments, and  drinks  in  which  many  women  indulge. 

At  the  first  appearance  of  leucorrhcea,  there  are  usually  the  indica- 
tions of  acute  inflammation,  pain,  heat,  and  redness  of  the  parts 
involved  which  may  subside  as  the  discharge  becomes  more  and  more 
fully  developed.  With  this  discharge,  whether  acute  or  chronic,  there 
will  usually  be  more  or  less  pain  in  the  groins  and  hypogastrum  (lower 
part  of  the  abdomen),  and  in  the  lower  part  and  small  of  the  back.  The 
urethra  will  often  become  implicated,  causing  painful  micturation  (passing 
water)  in  the  acute  form,  and  sometimes  causing  almost  inability  to  urinate. 

How  this  Disease    Should  be  Treated. 

The  treatment  of  leuchorrhcea,  or  whites,  must  necessarily  be 
directed  first  to  the  cause,  as  failure  of  the  general  health,  as  from 
consumption  or  anaemia  (impoverishment  of  the  blood).  The  treat- 
ment will  relate  primarily  to  the  treatment  of  consumption,  with 
which  this  ailment  is  so  frequently  and  closely  associated ; 
directions  will  be  given  in  the  article  on  consumption  ;  or,  if  the 


DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN.  249 

near  the  time  for  the  menstrual  flow ;  and  the  discharge  is  so  very 
acrid  and  corrosive  that  not  only  are  the  adjacent  parts  made  sore, 
but  the  underclothing  is  made  rotten  and  destroyed.  Dose:  Six 
globules. 

The  diet  ought  to  be  simple,  but  generally  very  nutritive.  Coffee 
and  tea  ought  to  be  avoided,  and  cocoa  or  arrowroot  substituted. 
Regular  exposure  to  the  benign  influence  of  the  fresh  air  is  commend- 
able, but  over-fatigue  and  prolonged  standing  should  be  seduously 
avoided. 

PROLAPSUS  UTERI— FALLING  OF  THE  WOMB. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  common  forms  of  uterine  displacement.  It 
occurs  in  three  distinct,  different  degrees,  to  each  of  which  some 
writers  on  the  subject  have  affixed  a  different  name.  Thus,  relaxa- 
tion, or  simple  descent  of  the  womb,  is  understood  to  indicate  the 
first  and  least  displacement  downward,  and  to  consist  only  in  a  simple 
bearing-down  of  the  womb  upon  the  upper  portion  of  the  vagina.  In 
prolapsus  uteri,  the  organ  comes  still  lower  down,  and  may  present 
itself  at  the  orifice  of  the  vagina. 

In  procerdentia  uteri  there  is  actual  protrusion  of  the  organ,  even  the 
entire  body  of  the  womb  being,  in  some  cases,  extended  from  the 
vulva.  These  are  but  different  degrees  of  descent  of  the  uterus  in 
the  line  of  the  vagina.  Upon  examination  of  the  same  displaced 
uterus,  at  different  times  of  the  day,  it  may  be  found  to  be  more  or 
less  prolapsed,  according  to  the  condition  of  active  exercise,  or  quiet, 
in  which  the  parts  may  have  been  for  some  hours  previous. 

Primary  Symptoms. 

The  principal  and  primary  symptoms  of  the  descent  of  the  womb 
are  :  dragging  and  aching  pains  in  the  small  of  the  back,  pulling  and 
bearing-down  pains  in  the  lower  part  of  the  abdomen,  sensation  as  if 
something  would  issue  from  the  vagina ;  sufferings  much  worse  from 
walking,  or  other  exercise ;  the  pains  are  often  noticed  to  have  come 
immediately  after  some  exertion  of  an  unusual  kind,  and  after  some 


DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN.  255 

INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  BREASTS. 

The  mammae  constituting  exclusively  a  part  of  the  female  organism, 
we  prefer  treating  of  inflammation  of  the  mammae  in  this  place,  instead 
of  ranging  this  disease  among  the  diseases  of  the  thoracic  organs. 

Mastitis,  or  inflammation  proper,  only  occurs  during  or  immediately 
after  nursing.  The  painful,  sometimes  rather  extensive,  hardened 
swellings  of  single  portions  of  the  breasts,  which  sometimes  occur* 
among  unmarried  females  or  married  women  who  are  not  nursing, 
especially  about  the  time  of  the  menses,  are  evidently  transitory  states 
of  congestion  which  never  terminate  in  suppuration. 

The  cause  of  mastitis  is  always  traceable  to  the  impeded  discharge 
of  milk.  By  some  cause  or  other,  soreness,  or  a  bad  shape  of  the 
nipples,  or  too  feeble  drawing  of  the  child,  one  or  more  milk-ducts 
become  closed. 

The  doctrine  that  mastitis  can  originate  in  dietetic  transgressions  or 
cold,  is  a  convenient  supposition  rather  than  a  scientific  fact.  What 
happens  with  other  abscesses,  is,  likewise,  true  in  regard  to  abscesses  of 
the  mammae ;  in  some  cases  they  heal  rapidly,  in  other  cases  they 
cause  vast  destructions  of  tissue.  Mastitis  is  most  apt  to  occur  soon 
after  confinement,  or  shortly  after  weaning  the  child ;  mastitis  occur- 
ing  at  the  latter  period,  is  less  apt  to  lead  to  the  formation  of  abscesses. 

Sure  Signs  of  the  Ailment. 

The  disease  never  breaks  out  all  at  once.  Generally,  women 
experience,  some  time  previous,  a  gradually  increasing  pain,  both 
spontaneously  or  while  the  child  is  nursing  and  a  swelling 
develops  itself  soon  after.  As  a  rule,  the  lower  or  lateral  lobes  are 
inflamed,  very  seldom  the  upper  ones,  and  still  less  frequently  both 
breasts.  Sooner  or  later,  sometimes  in  a  few  days,  and  at  other  times 
in  some  weeks,  the  painful  spot  becomes  red  and  more  sensitive,  and 
the  inflammation  is  intense,  the  whole  organism  feels  the  effect  of  the 
inflammatory  process,  and  shows  its  sympathy  by  febrile  phenomena. 
Soon  the  infiltrated  tissue  shows  the  signs  of  suppuration,  the  pus 


DISEASES   PECULIAR   TO   WOMEN.  259 

HEARTBURN— ACIDITY— WATERBRASH. 

These  distressing  forms  of  gastric  disturbance  sometimes  make  theit 
appearance  soon  after  conception,  while  in  other  cases  they  may  not 
make  their  appearance  until  after  the  fourth  month.  Some  women 
are  remarkably  subject  to  these  symptoms  when  pregnant ;  in  others 
they  are  manifested  with  less  violence ;  in  others  not  at  all.  There 
may  be  merely  a  burning  sensation — heartburn  in  the  throat — which 
indicates  sympathetic  irritation  ;  or  the  severe  forms  of  waterbrash 
with  acidity  which  arise  from  more  fully  developed  irritation. 

As  in  the  nausea  and  vomiting  of  pregnancy,  so  in  waterbrash, 
acidity,  and  heartburn,  every  degree  of  intensity  and  variety  of  mani- 
festation and  complication  may  be  seen  in  different  individual  cases. 
Sometimes  these  disturbances  are  found  accompanied  with,  and  greatly 
aggravating  the  nausea  and  vomiting,  while  at  other  times  they  seem 
to  appear  instead  of  the  vomiting. 

As  in  cases  of  ordinary  dyspepsia,  these  sufferings  are  worse  after 
certain  articles  of  food  or  drink,  such  as  meats,  fat  meats  or  gravies, 
milk  or  fruit.  In  the  more  severe  cases,  nearly  everything  that  is 
eaten  becomes  but  an  added  fuel  to  the  burning  fire.  Still,  a  careful 
avoidance  of  all  those  articles  which,  whether  solid  or  liquid,  are 
found  to  disagree  most,  and  a  careful  selection  from  the  remedies 
given,  will,  as  in  cases  of  nausea  and  vomiting,  go  very  far  to  remove 
the  most  distressing  symptoms,  and  eventually  to  secure  a  grent 
improvement  in  the  general  health. 

Treatment. 

Antimonium  Crudum.  Nausea  alone  or  nausea  and  frightful  vomit- 
ing with  convulsion.  .  Belching,  with  a  taste  of  what  has  been  eaten. 
Thirst  at  night.  Painful  sense  of  fulness  of  the  stomach,  which  is 
sore  on  pressure.  Dose  :  Eight  pills  every  four  hours. 

Arsenicum  is  very  useful  when  there  is  a  very  great  debility  and 
exhaustion.  Very  pale,  white  look.  Sensation  as  of  a  stone  in  the 
stomach.  Vomiting  of  fluids  as  soon  as  she  takes  them.  Exhausting 


DIGESTIVE   TRACT,    SHOWING   THE   SMALL    INTESTINES. 


262  DISEASES   PECULIAR  TO   WOMEN. 

drawing  toothache,  with  pain  extending  to  the  ears,  or  to  the  arms 
and  fingers,  excited  by  compressing  the  teeth  or  by  cold  air,  and 
attended  with  swelling  of  the  cheek,  and  enlargement  of  the  glands 
under  the  lower  jaw. 

Magnesia  Carbonica.  Nocturnal  pains  in  the  teeth,  insupportable 
when  lying  down,  and  compelling  the  patient  to  get  up  and  walk ; 
pains  generally  boring,  burning,  drawing,  tearing,  and  resembling 
those  of  ulceration,  attended  with  swelling  of  the  cheek  on  the 
affected  side.  Dose  :  These  remedies  may  be  given  every  three  hours, 
six  pills  at  a  dose,  until  relief,  and  then  the  time  may  be  lengthened. 

SWELLING  OF  LOWER  LIMBS— VARICOSE  VEINS. 

This  a  very  common  attendant  of  pregnancy  ;  it  often  occasions  -no 
little  inconvenience,  and  is  usually  confined  to  the  seventh,  eighth 
and  ninth  months.  It  is  supposed  to  arise,  in  most  instances,  from 
mechanical  pressure  alone,  and  to  be  free  from  constitutional  disease. 
This  is  true  in  those  cases  where  it  is  not  accompanied  by  dropsical 
affections.  Standing  and  walking  serve  to  aggravate  this  condition  ; 
it  becomes  worse  toward  evening,  gradually  increases  as  pregnancy 
advances,  and  is  often  combined  with  a  varicose  state  of  veins. 

Many  females  suffer  much  during  pregnancy  from  distention  of 
veins  in  the  thigh  and  other  parts,  which,  becoming  violent,  eventually 
cause  great  pain  and  inconvenience.  These  varicose  veins  generally 
arise  from  obstructed  circulation,  caused  by  the  pressure  of  the  uterus 
upon  the  blood-vessels.  Considerable  alleviation  is  experienced  by 
constant  bathing  with  water  or  with  diluted  alcohol  or  brandy.  Also, 
by  bandaging  from  the  foot  upwards  with  a  gentle  and  equal  pres- 
sure, and  by  preserving  a  recumbent  posture,  which  is  required  in 
severe  forms  of  the  complaint,  accompanied  with  considerable  swelling 
of  the  feet,  ankles,  etc. 

Treatment. 

Pulsatilla  may  be  given,  particularly  when  there  is  excessive  pain 
and  swelling,  with  a  good  deal  of  inflammation,  or  when  the  veins 
are  of  >  livid  color  which  is  imparted  to  the  whole  limb. 


268  DISEASES   PECULIAR  TO   WOMEN. 

action  in  the  breast  may  supervene.  Dose :  Three  globules,  repeated 
at  intervals  of  four  hours,  until  a  degree  of  improvement  sets  in,  and 
then  at  intervals  of  six  hours. 

Rhus.  is  also  of  considerable  service  when  extreme  fullness,  tension 
and  painfulness  of  the  breasts,  with  excessive  secretion  of  milk,  attend 
the  case.  Dose  :  As  directed  for  Belladonna. 

CHILD-BED  FEVER— PUERPERAL  FEVER. 

The  trouble  is  of  so  grave  a  nature  that  it  is  with  reluctance 
that  we  approach  the  subject.  Where  it  is  at  all  possible,  we  would 
advise  a  skilled  physician  to  be  employed.  As  this  work,  however, 
will  enter  some  home  where  no  physician  can  be  procured,  it  has  been 
thought  judicious  to  treat  the  disease  at  sufficient  length  to  be  avail- 
able in  cases  of  emergency. 

This  disease  assumes  various  types  and  degrees,  and  has  received 
various  names.  Usually  the  disease  begins  on  the  second,  third  or 
fourth  day,  although,  in  some  cases,  it  even  appears  later,  as  late  even 
as  the  eighth  or  ninth.  It  sometimes  begins  with  a  distinct  chill,  and, 
again,  there  may  be  only  slight  chilliness,  imperfect  and  merely 
noticed.  The  pulse  is  very  rapid,  full  and  soft.  In  some  cases,  there 
is  neither  pain,  distention  nor  tenderness  of  the  abdomen  ;  while  in 
others,  the  pain  is  very  acute,  the  distention  enormous,  and  the  ten- 
derness exquisite. 

Perspiration  and  Thirst. 

Profuse  sweating  is  a  very  common  and  distressing  accompaniment 
of  this  disorder  ;  the  sweating  of  puerperal  fever  does  not  diminish  the 
amount  of  urine,  nor  abate  the  quickness  of  the  pulse.  An  intolerable 
thirst  prevails,  and  the  patient  drinks  immense  quantities  of  whatever 
fluid  she  may  be  allowed.  Dark  spots  appear  on  the  wrists  or  other 
parts  of  the  body. 

At  first,  the  lochia  may  be  unaffected  ;  they  may  be  even  increased 
in  quantity,  but  more  commonly  they  are  entirely  suppressed.  As 
the  disease  advances,  usually  about  the  third  day,  diarrhoea  and 
vomiting  may  supervene.  The  patient  becomes  listless  and  languid, 


PART   III. 

i  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF 

CHILDREN. 

CHAPTER  XX. 
ABLUTION  AND  CLOTHING. 

Every  Child  Should  be  Its  Mother's  Care—  The  Babe  a  "  Well-spring  of  Pleasure  " 
—  Directions  for  Bathing  —  Prevention  of  Colds  —  Skin  Bruptions  —  Free  Use  of 
Water  —  Cleanliness  and  Health  —  Treatment  for  Chafings  —  Bad  Effects  of 
Soda  in.  the  Laundry  —  Proper  Time  for  Bathing  the  Infant  —  The  Flannel 
Apron  —  Clothing  —  Material  for  the  Belly-band  —  Light  Dressing  —  Warmth  a 
First  Requisite—  Danger  of  Convulsions  —  How  Clothes  Should  be  Fastened  — 
Keeping  the  Head  Cool  —  Clothing  for  Winter. 


care  and  management,  and  consequently  the  health  and  future 
well-doing  of  the  child,  principally  devolve  upon  the  mother  ; 
"  for  it  is  the  mother  after  all  that  has  most  to  do  with  the  mak- 
ing or  marring  of  the  man."    Dr.  Guthrie  justly  remarks  that  —  "  Moses 
might  have  never  been  the  man  he  was  unless  he  had  been  nursed  by  his 
own  mother.      How  many  celebrated  men  have  owed  their  greatness 
and  their  goodness,  to  a  mother's  training!  " 

Napoleon  owed  much  to  his  mother.  "  The  fate  of  a  child,"  said 
Napoleon,  "  is  always  the  work  of  his  mother;"  and  this  extraordi- 
nary man  took  pleasure  in  repeating,  that  to  his  mother  he  owed  his 
elevation.  All  history  confirms  this  opinion.  The  character  of  the 
mother  influences  the  children  more  than  that  of  the  father,  because 
it  is  more  exposed  to  their  daily,  hourly  observation. 

We  are  not  overstating  the  importance  of  the  subject  in  hand  when 
we  say,  that  a  child  is  the  most  valuable  treasure  in  the  world,  that 
"he  is  the  precious  gift  of  God,"  that  he  is  the  source  of  a  mother's 

277 


278  ABLUTION  AND   CLOTHING. 

greatest  and  purest  enjoyment,  that  he  is  the  strongest  bond  of  affec- 
tion between  her  and  her  husband,  and  that 

"  A  babe  in  a  house  is  a  well-spring  of  pleasure, 
A  messenger  of  peace  and  love." 

We  have,  in  the  writing  of  the  following  pages,  had  one  object  con- 
stantly in  view — namely,  health — 

4 '  That  salt  of  life,  which  does  to  all  a  relish  give, 
Its  standing  pleasure,  and  intrinsic  wealth, 
The  body's  virtue,  and  the  soul's  good  fortune — health." 

If  the  following  pages  insist  on  the  importance  of  one  of  a  mother's 
duties  more  than  another  it  is  this — that  the  mother  herself  look  well 
into  everything  appertaining  to  the  management  of  her  own  child. 

Blessed  is  that  mother  among  mothers  of  whom  it  can  be  said  that 
"  she  hath  done  what  she  could  "  for  her  child — for  his  welfare,  for 
his  happiness,  for  his  health.  For  if  a  mother  hath  not  "  done  what 
she  could  for  her  child" — mentally,  morally  and  physically — woe 
betide  the  unfortunate  little  creature ;  better  had  it  been  for  him  had 
he  never  been  born. 

Temperature  of  the  Water. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  plan  to  use  cold  water  for  the  babe  from  the 
first,  under  the  impression  of  its  strengthening  the  child.  This  appears 
to  be  a  cruel  and  barbarous  practice,  and  is  likely  to  have  a  contrary 
tendency.  Moreover,  it  frequently  produces  either  inflammation  of 
the  eyes,  or  stuffing  of  the  nose,  or  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  or 
looseness  of  the  bowels.  Although  we  do  not  approve  of  cold  water, 
we  ought  not  to  run  into  an  opposite  extreme,  as  hot  water  would 
weaken  and  enervate  the  babe,  and  thus  would  predispose  him  to 
disease.  Lukewarm  rain-water  will  be  the  best  to  wash  him  with. 
This,  if  it  be  summer,  should  have  its  temperature  gradually  lowered, 
until  it  be  quite  cold  ;  if  it  be  winter,  a  dash  of  warm  water  ought  still 
to  be  added,  to  take  off  the  chill.  (By  thermometer  =  90  to  92 
degrees.) 

It  will  be  necessary  to  use  soap,  white  Castile  soap  being  the  best 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
DIET  FOR  THE  INFANT. 

Away  with  Gruel — When  the  Tongue  is  Tied — First  Food  for  the  Infant — Both 
Breasts  to  be  Drawn  Alike — Too  Frequent  Nursing — Artificial  Food — A  Simple 
Preparation — Foods  of  Various  Kinds — Baked  Flour — Bread  Crumbs — Oatmeal 
— Pulp  of  Rice — Foods  Containing  Starch — Arrow-root — New  Milk — When  to 
Give  Farinaceous  Food — How  Digestion  is  Aided — Salt  and  Sugar — Weak 
Mothers — No  Real  Substitute  for  Mother's  Milk — Nursing  and  the  Mother's 
Health — Care  of  the  Feeding-bottle — Flatulence — Time  for  Weaning — Gin  and 
Peppermint—  Diet  Versus  Physic. 

AN  infant  ought  to  be  put  to  the  breast  soon  after  birth — the 
interest,  both  of  the  mother  and  of  the  child,  demands  it.  It 
will  be  advisable  to  wait  three  or  four  hours,  that  the  mother 
may  recover  from  her  fatigue,  and  then  the  babe  must  be  put  to  the 
breast.  If  this  be  done,  he  will  generally  take  the  nipple  with  avidity. 

It  might  be  said,  at  so  early  a  period,  that  there  is  no  milk  in  the 
breast  ;  but  such  is  not  usually  the  case.  There  generally  is  a  little 
from  the  very  beginning,  which  acts  on  the  baby's  bowels  like  a  dose 
of  purgative  medicine,  and  appears  to  be  intended  by  nature  to  cleanse 
the  system.  But,  provided  there  be  no  milk  at  first,  the  very  act  of 
sucking  not  only  gives  the  child  a  notion  of  sucking,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  causes  a  draught  (as  it  is  usually  called)  in  the  breast,  and  enables 
the  milk  to  flow  easily. 

Of  course,  if  there  be  no  milk  in  the  breast — the  babe  having  been 
applied  once  or  twice  to  determine  the  fact — then  you  must  wait  for 
a  few  hours  before  applying  him  again  to  the  nipple,  that  is  to  say, 
until  the  milk  be  secreted. 

An  infant,  who,  for  two  or  three  days,  is  kept  from  the  breast,  and 
who  is  fed  upon  gruel,  generally  becomes  feeble,  and  frequently,  at 
the  end  of  that  time,  will  not  take  the  nipple  at  all.  Besides,  there  "  s 
a  thick  cream  which,  if  not  drawn  out  by  the  child,  may  cause  inflam- 
mation and  gathering  of  the  breast,  and  consequently  great  suffering 

287 


294  DIET   FOR  THE   INFANT. 

cleanliness  of  the  cooking  utensils.     The  above  directions  require  the 
strict  supervision  of  the  mother. 

Broths  have  been  recommended,  but,  for  our  own  part,  we  think 
that  for  a  young  infant  they  are  objectionable  ;  they  are  apt  to  turn 
acid  on  the  stomach,  and  to  cause  flatulence  and  sickness  ;  they, 
sometimes,  disorder  the  bowels  and  induce  griping  and  purging. 

How  Food  is  to  be  Given. 

Whatever  artificial  food  is  used  ought  to  be  given  by  means  of  a 
bottle,  not  only  as  it  is  a  more  natural  way  than  any  other  of  feeding 
a  baby,  as  it  causes  him  to  suck  as  though  he  were  drawing  it  from 
the  mother's  breasts,  but  as  the  act  of  sucking  causes  the  salivary 
glands  to  press  out  their  contents,  which  materially  assist  digestion. 
Moreover,  it  seems  to  satisfy  and  comfort  him  more  than  it  other- 
wise would  do. 

The  food  ought  to  be  of  the  consistence  of  good  cream,  and 
should  be  made  fresh.  It  ought  to  be  given  milk-warm.  Attention 
must  be  paid  to  the  cleanliness  of  the  vessel,  and  care  should  be 
taken  that  the  milk  be  that  of  one  cow,  and  that  it  be  new  and  of 
good  quality  ;  for,  if  not,  it  will  turn  acid  and  sour,  and  disorder  the 
stomach,  and  will  thus  cause  either  flatulence  or  looseness  of  the 
bowels,  or,  perhaps,  convulsions.  The  only  way  to  be  sure  of  having 
it  from  one  cow  is  (if  you  have  not  a  cow  of  your  own)  to  have  the 
milk  from  a  respectable  dairy,  and  to  have  it  brought  to  your  house 
in  a  can  of  your  own.  The  better  plan  is  to  have  two  cans,  and  to 
have  the  milk  fresh  every  night  and  morning.  The  cans,  after  each 
time  of  using,  ought  to  be  scalded  out,  and,  once  a  week,  the  can 
should  be  filled  with  cold  water,  and  the  water  should  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  it  until  the  can  be  again  required. 

The  Kind  of  Seasoning. 

Very  little  sugar  should  be  used  in  the  food,  as  much  sugar  weakens 
the  digestion.  A  small  pinch  of  table-salt  ought  to  be  added  to  what- 
ever food  is  given,  as  "the  best  savor  is  salt."  Salt  is  most  whole- 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
TEETHING. 

Infants  Sometimes  Born  with  Teeth — Proper  Time  for  Teething  to  Commence— 
Ivength  of  Time  in  Cutting — Lancing  the  Gums — Mode  of  Operation — Infantil  J 
Convulsions — Gums  Injured  by  Various  Substances — Rubber  and  Leather 
Rings — Sucking  the  Thumb — Diet  of  Fruit — Ailments  During  Teething — Pain- 
ful Dentition — Mild  Form — Treatment  Recommended — The  Tepid  Bath — Re 
laxed  Bowels — The  "  Tooth-cough  " — Diastrous  Effects  of  Opiates — L,audanuir, 
and  Paregoric — Swollen  Gums — Pain  and  Inflammation — Skin  Blotches- 
Second  Teeth— Parental  Neglect. 

THE  period  at  which  dentition  or  teething  commences  is  uncertain. 
It  may,  as  a  rule,  be  said  that  a  babe  begins  to  cut  his  teeth  at 
seven  months  old.     Some  have  cut  teeth  at  three  months  ;  in 
deed,  there  are  instances  on  record  of  infants  having  been  born  with 
teeth.     King   Richard  the  Third  is  said  to  have  been  an  example. 
Shakespeare  notices  it  thus  : 

"YORK. — Marry,  they  say  my  uncle  grew  so  fast, 

That  he  could  gnaw  a  crust  at  two  hours  old. 
'Twas  full  two  years  ere  I  could  get  a  tooth. 
Grandam,  this  would  have  been  a  biting  jest." 

When  a  babe  is  born  with  teeth,  they  generally  drop  out.  On  the 
other  hand,  teething,  in  some  children,  does  not  commence  until  the) 
are  a  year  and  a  half  or  two  years  old,  and,  in  rare  cases,  not  until 
tbey  are  three  years  old.  There  are  cases  recorded  of  adults  who 
have  never  cut  any  teeth.  Dentition  has  been  known  to  occur  in  old 
age.  A  case  is  recorded  by  M.  Carre,  in  the  Gazette  Medicate  de  Paris, 
September  15,  1860,  of  an  old  lady,  aged  eighty-five,  who  cut  several 
teeth  after  attaining  that  age. 

The  first  or  temporary  set  consists  of  twenty.  The  first  set  of  teeth 
are  usually  cut  in  pairs.  Says  that  eminent  authority,  Sir  Charles 
Locock :  "  I  may  say  that  nearly  invariably  the  order  is — first,  the 
lower  front  incissors  [cutting  teeth] ,  then  the  upper  front,  then  the 
upper  two  lateral  incisors,  and  that  not  uncommonly  a  double  tooth  is 

301 


TEETHING.  309 

to  the  diet — if  it  be  absolutely  necessary  to  give  him  artificial  food 
while  suckling — and  care  must  be  taken  riot  to  overload  the  stomach. 
A  child  is  subject  to  a  slight  cough  during  dentition — called  by 
nurses  "  tooth-cough  " — which  a  parent  would  not  consider  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  consult  a  doctor  about,  but  do  not  give  any  nar- 
cotic, any  opiate. 

What  the  Cough  Means. 

A  cough  is  an  effort  of  nature  to  bring  up  any  secretion  from  the 
lining  membrane  of  the  lungs,  or  from  the  bronchial  tubes,  hence  it 
ought  not  to  be  interfered  with.  We  have  known  the  administration 
of  syrup  of  white  poppies,  or  of  paregoric,  to  stop  the  cough,  and 
thereby  to  prevent  the  expulsion  of  the  phlegm,  and  thus  to  produce 
either  inflammation  of  the  lungs  or  bronchitis.  Moreover,  both  pare- 
goric and  other  narcotics  are,  for  a  young  child,  dangerous  medicines 
(unless  administered  by  a  judicious  doctor),  and  ought  never  to  be 
given  by  a  mother. 

Bear  in  mind  that  the  development  of  teeth  in  their  regular  order, 
although  a  perfectly  natural  process,  is  often  attended  with  much 
suffering.  When  dentition  is  slow,  retarded  and  difficult,  it  not  only 
becomes  of  itself  a  serious  disorder,  but  it  involves  also  a  long  train 
of  morbid  symptoms  and  actual  diseases  which  may  exhaust  the 
patient's  strength,  and  finally  destroy  its  life.  The  primary  difficulty 
in  such  cases  is  in  the  nutrition,  and  as  we  often  see  in  older  children 
a  remarkable  backwardness  in  the  development  of  the  osseous  (bone) 
system  in  general,  so  we  often  find  in  earlier  periods  of  infantile  life  a 
corresponding  slowness  in  the  development  of  the  teeth.  And  both 
these  forms  of  imperfect  development,  occurring,  as  they  often  do, 
successively  in  the  same  children,  are  to  be  attributed  to  some  pro- 
found constitutional  taint  which  affects  the  nutrition. 

Swollen  and  Painful  Gums. 

In  some  few  cases  the  teeth  come  through  so  readily  as  to  scarcely 
disturb  the  infant ;  but  more  frequently,  indeed,  the  mouth  becomes 
hot  and  the  gums  look  tumid,  tense  and  shining,  while  the  exact 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
DISEASES  OF  CHILDREN. 

Inflammation  of  the  Eyes — Hiccough  and  its  Treatment — Snuffles,  or  Cold  in  the 
Head— Remedies  for  Cold— Colic  and  What  to  Do  for  It— Rules  for  Diet— In- 
digestion and  Vomiting — Flatulence — Milk-crust,  or  Scabs — Thrush,  and  How 
to  Overcome  It — Costiveness — Diarrhoea — Cholera  Infantum — A  Dangerous 
Ailment — Full  List  of  Remedies  for  Summer  Complaint — Alarming  Symptoms 
—Stupor  and  Convulsions — Standard  Treatment — Asthma — Result  of  Cold — 
Importance  of  Prompt  Relief — Vaccination — Transmission  of  Disease — Vacci- 
nation Should  be  Repeated. 

XTEWBORN  infants  and  other  children  are  subject  to  purulent  oph- 
±_  >|  thalmia,  or  inflammation  of  the  eyes.  This  disorder  is  always 
more  or  less  serious,  for,  unless  speedily  cured,  the  inflamma- 
tion may  result  in  ulceration,  and  the  contents  of  the  eyeballs  be  dis- 
charged, causing  permanent  deformity  as  well  as  hopeless  blindness. 
The  first  indication  of  the  disease  is,  generally,  the  eyelids  becoming 
glued  together  during  sleep,  with  redness  and  swelling  externally. 

The  causes  are :  sudden  exposure  to  the  light  of  day,  to  cold,  or  the 
glare  of  a  lamp  or  fires.  Many  cases  of  inflammation  of  the  eyes 
occur  in  babes  whose  mothers  are  affected  with  leucorrhcea;  therefore, 
we  must  conclude  a  discharge  from  the  genitals  of  the  mother  is  a 
very  frequent  cause  of  ophthalmia  in  newborn  infants,  or  it  is  some- 
times epidemic,  and  no  doubt  many  children  who  are  what  is  com- 
monly called  "  born  blind,"  owe  their  misfortune  to  the  neglect  of 
proper  precaution,  in  many  cases  the  external  indications  of  this  affec- 
tion being  so  slight  as  to  escape  observation. 

The  eye  is  an  organ  so  delicate,  and  the  importance  of  proper, 
judicious  treatment  for  any  of  its  ailments  is  so  great,  that  a  skillful 
oculist  should  at  all  times  be  consulted.  The  treatment  should  be  in 
part  constitutional,  removing  all  causes  that  impair  the  general  health 
of  the  child.  Indeed,  this  is  an  invariable  rule  in  the  effort  to  remedy 
any  local  ailment.  The  trouble  can  often  be  made  to  disappear  whe? 
312 


DISEASES   OF   CHILDREN.  313 

good  general  health  is  established.  The  following  remedies,  however, 
may,  with  safety,  be  used  in  cases  of  ophthalmia : 

Aconite  should  be  administered  as  soon  as  we  become  aware  of  the 
existence  of  this  evil ;  a  few  doses  will  generally  be  found  sufficient 
to  subdue  this  affection  in  all  mild  cases.  Dose :  Two  pills  every  four 
hours. 

Belladonna.  The  eyes  look  very  red  ;  cannot  bear  the  light ;  open- 
ing the  eyes  only  when  in  a  dark  place.  This  remedy  is  good  to 
alternate  with  Aconite.  Dose  :  As  for  Aconite. 

HICCOUGH. 

This  affection,  though  in  itself  of  slight  importance,  frequently 
causes  a  considerable  degree  of  uneasiness  to  the  young  mother.  It 
generally  arises  from  exposure  of  the  body,  even  in  a  warm  room,  to 
currents  of  air,  even  during  the  operation  of  dressing  and  undress- 
ing the  newborn  child. 

Wrapping  the  infant  warm  in  bed,  or  better  still,  applying  it  to  the 
breast,  will  generally  lead  to  a  cessation  of  the  affection  ;  should  it, 
however,  continue,  the  administration  of  a  small  quantity  of  white 
"igar,  as  much  as  will  cover  the  end  of  a  teaspoon,  dissolved  in  a  tea- 
:  ooonful  of  water,  will  frequently  effectually  remove  the  evil. 

Nux  Vomica.  Two  pills  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  infant  will 
r.rrest  the  trouble,  if  the  other  advice  should  fail. 

Allopathic  Treatment. 

Hiccough  is  generally  relieved  by  a  sudden  arrest  of  the  attention 
as  by  a  reproof  or  a  sudden  expression  of  great  surprise.  Hot  cloths 
wrung  out  of  warm  or  hot  water  may  be  continually  applied,  or  a 
mustard  and  flaxseed  poultice  laid  over  the  region  of  the  diaphragm. 
The  common  internal  remedies  are  cold  water,  snow,  pounded  ice  01 
ice  cream.  Anodyne  and  antispasmodic  drugs  are  useful  in  this  as  in 
other  coughs. 

A  combination  of  Chloral,  Bromide  of  Potassium,  with  or  without 
ail  opiate,  is  generally  effectual.  Take  of  Hydrate  of  Chloral  and 


314  DISEASES   OF   CHILDREN. 

Bromide  of  PotassVim  and  Bicarbonate  of  Potash,  one  scruple, 
Paregoric,  two  drachms.  Peppermint  Water  sufficient  to  make  two 
ounces.  Mix.  Dose :  A  teaspoon,  half  full,  to  a  dessertspoonful, 
every  two  or  three  hours.  Obstinate  cases  will  require  professional 
advice. 

SNUFFLES,  OR  COLD  IN  THE  HEAD. 

Snuffles,  or  cold  in  the  head,  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  common 
affections  of  the  young  infant.  It  consists  of  an  inflammation  of  the 
mucous  lining  of  the  nose.  The  first  that  is  known  of  it  is,  that  the 
infant's  nose  is  stopped  up  so  as  to  hinder  its  breathing,  hindering  it 
in  the  action  of  sucking,  by  not  allowing  the  breath  to  pass  through 
the  nostrils,  obliging  the  infant  to  release  the  nipple  in  order  to 
breathe,  causing  it  to  become  fretful  and  irritable. 

While  this  state  continues,  it  has  its  influence  against  the  infant's 
thriving,  both  by  hindering  it  from  taking  a  sufficient  amount  of  nour- 
ishment, and  by  annoying  the  breathing  of  the  child  so  as  to  disturb 
its  sleep.  When  the  nose  is  dry  while  administering  a  remedy,  to 
remove  the  evil,  relief  may  be  obtained  by  oiling  the  nose  on  the  out- 
side and  by  using  a  feather  or  camel' s-hair  pencil  on  the  inside. 
Fresh  lard,  goose  grease,  cream,  or  a  little  breast  milk  will  often  afford 

grateful  relief. 

Treatment. 

Aconite.  This  remedy,  if  administered  at  first,  when  there  are 
febrile  indications,  will  often  cut  short  an  attack  of  snuffles.  Dose : 
Two  globules  every  two  hours. 

Nux.  The  trouble  is  worse  at  night,  particularly  toward  morning 
or  in  the  morning.  Through  the  night  the  nose  is  very  dry.  Dose: 
As  for  Aconite. 

Euphrasia.  Profuse,  fluent  discharge  and  acrid  discharge  from  the 
eyes  ;  the  eyes  are  much  involved.  Dose :  As  for  Aconite. 

Chamomilla.  Where  there  is  watery  or  mucus  discharge  ;  the 
child  is  quieted  by  carrying  it  up  and  down  the  room.  One  cheek 
red  the  other  pale.  Dose :  As  for  Aconite. 

Pulsatilla  is  indicated  by  thick,  green  or  yellow  bloody  matter,  like 


324  DISEASES   OF   CHILDREN. 

regular  stool.  Take  of  tincture  of  Nux  Vomica  and  Tincture  of 
Belladonna  each  two  drachms,  Syrup  of  Orange  Peel  four  drachms. 
Mix.  Dose :  One  to  twenty  drops  once  a  day,  according  to  the  age 

of  the  child. 

DIARRHOEA    OF    CHILDREN. 

v  Infantile  diarrhoea  constitutes  one  of  the  most  frequent  and  serious 
of  all  diseases  that  occur  in  infancy  and  childhood. 

Of  itself  alone  diarrhoea  does  not  often  prove  directly  fatal,  but  its 
long  continuance  seriously  weakens  the  patient,  and  endangers  the 
health,  and  it  constitutes,  moreover,  a  very  grave  complication  of  other 
forms  of  disease. 

Causes  of  diarrhoea  are  various  ;  the  introduction  into  the  stomach 
of  inappropriate  indigestible  food;  the  deranged  condition  of  the 
mother's  milk  induced  by  mental  emotions,  improper  diet,  or  other 
causes  on  the  part  of  the  mother ;  fright  and  exposure  of  the  infant  to 
cold,  and  the  improper  use  of  laxatives,  etc.,  may  be  enumerated  as 
being  the  most  frequent  exciting  causes  of  this  disorder. 

It  is  well  to  notice  closely  as  to  the  symptoms.  A  healthy  infant 
at  the  breast,  passes  on  an  average  from  three  to  six  motions  in  twenty- 
four  hours ;  but  in  some  instances  the  evacuations  are  more  frequent, 
yet  without  in  any  degree  affecting  the  health  of  the  child ;  in  such  cases, 
then,  there  ought  to  be  little  or  no  interference,  so  long  as  the  stools 
remain  free  from  fetor,  possessing  merely  the  slightly  acid  smell,  peculiar 
to  unnatural  indication.  When,  however,  the  stools  become  green  and 
watery,  or  yellow  and  watery,  brown  and  frothy,  as  if  fermented, 
mixed  with  phlegm  or  mucus,  or  consisting  entirely  of  mucus,  emit  an 
offensive  odor,  and  are  generally  preceded  or  accompanied  by  signs  of 
suffering,  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  remedial  aid. 

CHOLERA  INFANTUM— SUMMER    COMPLAINT. 

This  is  a  special  form  of  bowel  complaint,  which  requires  special 
notice.  This  disease  very  often  proves  fatal,  even  under  the  best  of 
treatment,  since  it  appears  usually  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer, 
when  the  young  infant's  system  is  already  somewhat  exhausted  by  the 


326  DISEASES   OF   CHILDREN. 

languid  and  dull,  or  hollow  and  glassy,  and  the  child  takes  no  notice 
of  surrounding  objects  or  persons  ;  the  lips  are  dry  and  shrivelled. 
In  many  cases,  the  child  lies  in  an  imperfect  doze,  with  half-closed 
eyes,  and  entirely  insensible  to  external  impressions.  The  abdomen 
frequently  becomes  distended  and  hard,  or  is  sunken  or  flaccid. 

Stupor  and  Convulsions. 

Frequently,  in  fatal  cases,  the  child  falls  into  a  complete  state  of 
stupor,  and  convulsions  ensue.  It  not  unfrequently  happens,  particularly 
in  children  predisposed  to  affection  of  the  brain,  that  in  an  early  stage 
of  the  disease  the  brain  becomes  involved,  and  the  child  dies  with 
all  the  symptoms  of  inflammation  of  the  brain. 

Favorable  symptoms  are  an  abatement  of  the  fever,  and  the  gradual 
restoration  of  an  even  temperature,  with  decreased  frequency  of  the 
pulse ;  cessation  of  vomiting  and  decrease  in  the  number  of  evacua- 
tions, with  a  gradual  return  of  the  stool  to  a  more  natural  condition 
and  appearance ;  natural  and  peaceful  sleep,  desire  for  food,  and  a  gen- 
eral improvement  in  the  appearance  of  the  child,  together  with  a 
return  of  playfulness. 

Homoeopathic  Treatment. 

The  subjoined  medicines,  however,  are  those  most  frequently  called 
for  in  the  treatment  of  the  disease  under  consideration,  and  are 
approved  as  of  the  utmost  efficacy  when  carefully  selected  for  the 
individual  case. 

Aconitum  is  very  frequently  indicated,  and  should  be  given,  in 
cases  in  which  there  is  febrile  excitation,  manifested  by  acceleration 
of  the  pulse,  heat  and  dryness  of  the  skin,  and  thirst.  Under  such 
circumstances  it  often  happens  that  Aconitum,  when  promptly  admin- 
istered, not  only  removes  the  febrile  indication,  but,  as  well,  cuts 
short  the  entire  disease,  and  very  promptly  aids  in  restoring  the  babe 
to  health. 

Dose :  Two  globules,  dry,  on  the  tongue,  every  one  or  two  hours, 
according  to  the  severity  of  the  symptoms,  until  manifest  improve- 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
How  TO  PREVENT  DISEASE. 

Unhealthy  Boys  and  Girls  —  The  Overworked  Brain  —  Tendency  to  Scrofula  —  Pre- 
ventive Measures  —  Building  Up  the  System  —  Girls  Who  Stoop  —  Curvature  of 
the  Spine  —  Treatment  for  Spinal  Affections  —  Games  of  Sport  for  Young  I/adies 
—Consumption  —  Blood-spitting  —  Causes  and  Remedies  —  Poor  Diet  —  Treatment 
for  Sore  Throat  —  Evil  Effects  of  Tobacco  —  Bleeding  from  the  Nose  —  Fainting 
•  —  Costiveness  —  Too  Much  Medicine  —  Appeal  to  American  Mothers  —  Pimples 
on  the  Face  —  Gum-boils  —  How  to  Cure  Corns  —  How  to  Destroy  Warts  —  Deli- 
cate Young  I/adies  —  Bodily  Improvement  among  American  Girls. 


MART  "  children  are  not  always  the  healthiest.  A  greater 
quantity  of  arterial  blood  is  sent  to  the  brain  of  those  who  are 
prematurely  talented,  and  hence  it  becomes  more  than  ordi- 
narily developed.  Such  advantages  are  not  unmixed  with  danger  ; 
this  same  arterial  blood  may  excite  and  feed  inflammation,  and  either 
convulsions,  or  water  on  the  brain,  or  insanity,  or,  at  last,  idiocy  may 
follow.  How  proud  a  mother  is  in  having  a  precocious  child.  How 
little  is  she  aware  that  precocity  is  frequently  an  indication  of  disease. 

It  behooves  a  parent,  if  her  son  be  precocious,  to  restrain  him  —  to 
send  him  to  a  quiet  country  place,  free  from  the  excitement  of  the 
town  ;  and  when  he  is  sent  to  school,  to  give  directions  to  the  master 
that  he  is  not  on  any  account  to  tax  his  intellect  (for  a  master  is  apt, 
if  he  have  a  clever  boy,  to  urge  him  forward)  ;  and  to  keep  him  from 
those  institutions  where  a  spirit  of  rivalry  is  maintained,  and  where 
the  brain  is  thus  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  excitement.  Medals  and 
prizes  are  well  enough  for  those  who  have  moderate  abilities,  but 
dangerous  indeed  to  those  who  have  brilliant  ones. 

An  over-worked  precocious  brain  is  apt  to  cause  the  death  of  the 
owner  ;  and  if  it  does  not  do  so,  it  in  too  many  instances  injures  the 
brain  irreparably,  and  the  possessor  of  such  an  organ,  from  being  one 
of  the  most  intellectual  of  children,  becomes  one  of  the  most  common- 
place of  men.  Let  us  urge  you,  if  you  have  a  precocious  child,  to 

331 


834  HOW  TO   PREVENT   DISEASE. 

fall  now  into  the  hand  of  the  Lord  ;  for  very  great  are  his 
but  let  me  not  fall  into  the  hand  of  man." — Bible. 

Evils  of  Stooping. 

A  girl  ought  never  to  be  allowed  to  stoop ;  stooping  spoils  the 
figure,  weakens  the  chest,  and  interferes  with  the  digestion.  If  she 
cannot  help  stooping,  you  may  depend  upon  it  that  she  is  in  bad 
health,  and  that  a  medical  man  ought  to  be  consulted.  As  soon  as 
her  health  is  improved,  calisthenic  and  gymnastic  exercises  should  be 
resorted  to.  Horse  exercise  and  swimming  in  such  a  case  are  very 
beneficial.  The  girl  should  live  well,  on  good  nourishing  diet,  and 
not  be  too  closely  confined  either  to  the  house  or  to  her  lessons.  She 
ought,  during  the  night,  to  lie  on  a  horse-hair  mattress,  and  during 
the  day,  for  two  or  three  hours,  flat  on  her  back  on  a  reclining  board. 
Stooping,  if  neglected,  is  very  likely  to  lead  to  consumption. 

If  a  boy  be  round-shouldered  and  slouching  in  his  gait,  let  him  be 
drilled ;  there  is  nothing  more  likely  to  benefit  him  than  drilling. 
You  never  see  a  soldier  round-shouldered  nor  slouchy  in  his  gait. 
He  walks  every  inch  like  a  man.  Look  at  the  difference  in  appear- 
ance between  a  country  bumpkin  and  a  soldier.  It  is  the  drilling  that 
makes  the  difference  :  "  Oh,  for  a  drill-sergeant  to  teach  them  to 
stand  upright,  and  to  turn  out  their  toes,  and  to  get  rid  of  that 
slouching  hulking  gait,  which  gives  them  such  a  look  of  clumsiness 

and  stupidity ! ' ' 

Curvature  of  the  Spine. 

The  causes  of  lateral  curvature  of  the  spine,  and  consequent  bulg- 
ing out  of  the  ribs,  arise  either  from  delicacy  of  constitution,  from  the 
want  of  proper  exercise,  from  too  much  learning,  or  from  too  little 
play,  or  from  not  sufficient  or  proper  nourishment  for  a  rapidly-growing 
body.  We  are  happy  to  say  that  such  a  case,  by  judicious  treatment, 
can  generally  be  cured — namely,  by  gymnastic  exercises,  such  as  the 
hand-swing,  the  fly-pole,  the  patent  parlor  gymnasium,  the  chest- 
expander,  the  skipping  rope ;  the  swimming-bath  ;  all  sorts  of  outdoor 
games,  such  as  tennis,  archery,  bicycling  in  moderation  ;  by  plenty  of 


HOW   TO    PREVENT   DISEASE.  343 

meal.     The  best  times  of  the  day  for  taking  either  of  the  above  mix- 
tures will  be  eleven  o'clock,  four  o'clock  and  seven  o'clock. 

Standard  Remedies  for  Costiveness. 

The  best  opening  medicines  are — cold  ablutions  every  morning  of 
the  whole  body,  attention  to  diet,  variety  of  food,  bran-bread,  grapes, 
stewed  prunes,  French  plums,  figs,  fruit  both  cooked  and  raw — if  it 
be  ripe  and  sound,  oatmeal  porridge,  lentil  powder,  vegetables  of  all 
kinds,  especially  spinach,  exercise  in  the  open  air  and  early  rising.  If 
more  attention  were  paid  to  these  points,  poor  schoolboys  and 
schoolgirls  would  not  be  compelled  to  swallow  such  nauseous  and 
disgusting  messes  as  they  usually  do  to  their  aversion  and  injury. 

Should  these  plans  not  succeed  (although  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
with  patience  and  preseverance,  they  will)  we  would  advise  an  enema 
once  or  twice  a  week,  either  simply  of  warm  water,  or  of  one  made 
of  gruel,  table-salt  and  olive-oil,  in  the  proportion  of  two  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  table-salt,  two  of  oil  and  a  pint  of  warm  gruel,  which  a  boy 
may  administer  to  himself,  or  a  girl  to  herself,  by  means  of  a  proper 
enema  apparatus  (syringe). 

Use  of  Water. 

Hydropathy  is  oftentimes  very  serviceable  in  preventing  and  in 
curing  costiveness  ;  and,  as  it  will  sometimes  prevent  the  necessity  of 
administering  medicine,  it  is  both  a  boon  and  a  blessing.  Hydro- 
pathy supplies  us. with  various  remedies  for  constipation.  From  the 
simple  glass  of  cold  water,  taken  early  in  the  morning,  to  the  various 
douches  and  sea-baths,  a  long  list  of  useful  appliances  might  be  made 
out,  among  which  we  may  mention  the  "  wet  compresses  "  worn  for 
three  hours  over  the  abdomen  (bowels),  with  a  gutta  percha  covering. 

We  have  here  a  word  or  two  to  say  to  a  mother  who  is  always 
physicking  her  family.  It  is  an  unnatural  thing  to  be  constantly 
dosing  either  a  child  or  anyone  else  with  medicine.  One  would 
suppose  that  some  people  were  only  sent  into  the  world  to  be 
physicked.  If  more  care  were  paid  to  the  rules  of  health,  very  little 


PART   IV. 

FEMALE  BEAUTY  AND  ACCOM- 
PLISHMENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

A  Subject  of  Universal  Interest — Looking  Only  to  Immediate  Effect — How  to 
Assist  Nature — Fashionable  Ignorance — Nostrums  and  Quack  Cosmetics — 
Evening  Dissipation — Exposure  of  Health — A  Simple  Toilet  the  Best — Harmful 
Dress — Barbarous  Decorations — Conditions  on  which  Personal  Beauty  Depends 
— Neglect  of  Mind  and  Body — Cleanliness — Temperance  in  All  Things — Turn- 
ing Night  into  Day — Abuse  of  Digestion — Sickly  Paleness — How  Female 
Loveliness  is  Lost — Delicate  Women — Painted  Simpletons — Derangement  of 
the  Pulse — Hygiene  of  the  Greeks. 

MUCH  labor  is  frequently  employed,  and  much  expense  incurred, 
to   improve  and   preserve  the  personal  appearance,   and  to 
endow  it  with  new  charms,   or  to  increase  those  which   it 
already  possesses.     Unfortunately,  however,  although  much  thought 
and  ingenuity  are  often  expended,  or  rather  wasted,  on  the  subject, 
the  peculiar  conditions,  physiological,  hygienic,  and  social,  on  which 
female  beauty  depends,  are  either  only  slightly  regarded,  or  partially 
acted  on,  when  known,  and  more  frequently  neglected  altogether. 

With  some  persons,  immediate  effect,  at  whatever  sacrifice,  and 
irrespective  of  consequences,  is  deemed  of  more  importance  than  either 
health  or  personal  cleanliness,  or  appropriate  modes  of  dressing  ;  and 
in  few,  indeed  very  few,  instances  is  anything  beyond  the  "  mere  out- 
side effect  of  the  passing  hour"  for  a  moment  regarded.  Hence  it  is, 
that,  in  scarcely  any  other  portion  of  the  daily  routine  of  life  do  persons 

351 


PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  353 

the  next  soiree,  the  next  ball,  the  next  promenade  or  the  next  opera ; 
and,  as  observed  by  a  recent  eminent  author,  their  vision  beyond 
these  events  becomes  entirely  dimmed. 

But  the  errors  in  these  matters  arising  from  indolence,  thoughtless- 
ness and  indifference  to  consequences — the  desire  to  save  time, 
trouble  and  expense — are  greater  than  those  already  mentioned,  and 
are  probably  more  numerous  than  all  the  others  put  together.  Hence 
it  is  that  every  fashionable  ball  or  party,  every  opera-night  and  every 
concert  adds  to  the  number  of  the  hapless  victims  of  consumption  or 
some  other  fell  disease,  and  tinges  the  pallid  cheek  with  the  hectic 
flush  or  the  sallowness  that  marks  their  incipient  stages. 

Improprieties  of  Dress  and  Toilet. 

With  some  persons — perhaps,  we  might  say  with  most  persons — 
the  duties  of  the  toilet  are  of  a  very  simple  character,  being  limited 
to  mere  acts  of  cleanliness,  and  the  use  of  the  ordinary  hair  and  skin 
cosmetics.  Others  go  further,  but  it  is  all  in  the  same  direction  ; 
their  thoughts  not  extending  to  those  numerous  and  more  important 
matters  without  which  a  pleasing  personal  appearance,  much  less 
beauty,  cannot  long  exist.  Among  unpolished  and  ignorant  people 
this  is  more  especially  the  case.  As  civilization  and  refinement  and 
education  advance,  this  attention,  or  rather  misapplication  of  the  atten- 
tion, lessens. 

This  is  particularly  the  case  where  the  art  and  science  of  medicine 
and  physiology  have  made  much  progress.  In  our  own  country  and 
elsewhere,  during  the  last  half-century,  the  members  of  the  medical 
faculty  have  continually  directed  public  attention  to  improprieties  of 
dress  and  the  toilet ;  and  happily  with  such  success,  that  much  of  the 
grossness  in  these  particulars  that  distinguished  former  periods  has 
gradually  died  out  and  passed  away. 

Many  articles  of  dress,  and  practices  which  were  once  thought  use- 
ful or  beneficial,  or  at  the  most  harmless,  have  thus  been  exposed, 
and  their  use  either  abandoned  or  rendered  less  injurious  by  the 
removal  of  their  objectionable  features.  The  present  century  is  pro- 
23 


PERSONAL   APPEARANCE.  359 

frequent  use  of  the  bath,  and  their  being  better  clothed  than  their  less 
fortunate  brethren,  the  consequences  of  their  violations  of  the  natural 
laws  would  fall  on  them  even  more  heavily  than  they  now  do. 

Let  us  mark  the  effects  of  improper  food,  defective  ventilation,  and 
want  of  cleanliness.  These  evils  exhibit  themselves  in  the  unhealthy 
features,  the  broken  health,  the  frequent  cases  of  consumption,  fevers, 
and  skin  diseases,  and  other  ailments  affecting  the  health  and  personal 
appearance,  so  commonly  met  with.  It  is  only  the  active  nature  of 
their  occupations,  and  the  pecuniary  inability  of  most  of  such  persons 
to  indulge  in  excesses,  either  in  eating  or  drinking,  that  prevent  these 
things  being  still  more  common  than  they  already  are. 

The  immediate  and  intimate  relations  of  health  to  the  personal 
appearance  cannot  be  too  often  pointed  out,  and  should  be  thoroughly 
understood  and  acted  on  in  the  every-day  affairs  of  life. 

The  True  Basis  of  Personal  Beauty. 

Health  is  soundness  of  body,  with  the  due  performance  by  its  sev- 
eral parts  of  all  their  natural  functions,  both  separately  and  in  unity. 
This  is  "bodily"  or  "  physical  health."  A  like  perfect  exercise  of  the 
functions  of  the  mind  constitutes  "  mental  health."  The  union  of  the 
two  is  necessary  to  the  development  of  beauty,  and  to  the  existence 
of  true  corporeal  and  mental  enjoyment. 

Unsoundness  of  the  body,  or  the  disorganization  of  any  of  its  func- 
tions, generally  produces  a  corresponding  effect  upon  the  mind,  in 
some  portion  or  other  of  its  manifestations  and  uses;  and  when  the 
mind  is  seriously  diseased,  the  bodily  health  frequently,  indeed  gener- 
ally, degenerates. 

The  exceptions  chiefly  include  those  rare  and  vast  developments  of 
the  mind  commonly  called  "  genius,"  though  even  these  are  generally 
accompanied  with  a  delicate  state  of  health,  and  sometimes  with  dis- 
ease ;  and  those  striking  exhibitions  of  bodily  health  and  vigor,  where 
"  reason  seems  to  have  given  up  half  its  dominion  to  instinct  and 
muscular  strength."  In  each  case  there  is  exaggeration  of  the  one 
and  defect  of  the  other.  Perfect  health  exists  only  when  the  functions 


360  PERSONAL   APPEARANCE. 

of  both  body  and  mind  are  properly  exercised,  and  duly  balanced  to 
each  other. 

Disease,  either  "physical"  or  "mental,"  is  the  reverse  of  health. 
Any  unsoundness,  any  disarrangement,  organic  or  functional,  involves 
its  presence.  The  existence  of  disease,  or  even  of  any  defect  of  health 
approaching  it,  is  soon  developed  in  the  features,  and  is,  therefore, 
injurious  to  the  personal  appearance,  and  is  incompatible  with  the 
existence,  or,  at  all  events,  the  permanency  of  personal  beauty. 

On  the  promotion  and  preservation  of  the  health  chiefly  depend 
the  improvement  of  the  personal  appearance,  and  "the  maturity  and 
maintenance  of  personal  beauty.  The  delicate  nature  of  the  formation 
and  functions  of  the  human  body  is  such  that  propriety  and  regularity 
of  dress,  living,  and  the  like,  are  of  more  importance  than  is  generally 
supposed,  or  than  some  members  of  the  medical  profession  are  ready 
to  admit.  Do  not  abuse  your  own  body. 

Why  Personal  Charms  Decay. 

It  is,  however,  a  demonstrable  fact,  that,  apart  from  the  vicissitudes 
of  climate  and  season,  and  mere  accidental  circumstances  against 
which  foresight  is  unable  to  guard,  the  neglect  of  these  matters  is 
alone  sufficient  to  account  for  fully  one-half  of  the  maladies  and  suffer- 
ings which  "  flesh  is  heir  to." 

The  body  must  be  properly  nourished  and  its  heat  maintained  by 
appropriate  food  ;  it  must  be  properly  clothed  to  meet  the  vicissitudes 
of  climate,  situation,  weather,  and  individual  constitution ;  it  must  be 
freely  exposed  to  the  influence  of  light,  air,  warmth,  and  the  like,  and 
it  must  be  kept  clean,  and  enjoy  regularity  and  sufficiency  of 
exercise,  sleep,  and  all  the  habits  necessary  to  mere  animal  as  well  as 
polished  life,  for  the  full  exercise  of  its  numerous  delicate  functions, 
and  the  possession  of  perfect  health. 

Without  these  matters  are  attended  to,  the  health  will  fail,  and  no 
efforts  of  dressing,  no  toilet,  however  complicated  and  laborious,  no 
subtle  cosmetics  will  be  capable  of  preserving  the  personal  charms 
from  certain  and  rapid  decay. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 
BATHING  FOR  HEALTH  AND  BEAUTY. 

Beauty  a  Thing  to  be  Prized — Personal  Cleanliness — Vast  Influence  of  Soap  and 
Water — Choked  Perspiration — Secretions  of  Skin  and  Teeth — Contagious 
Poisons — Fruitful  Sources  of  Ill-health — Impoverished  Blood — The  Tepid 
Bath — Ablutions  Among  Jews  and  Mohammedans — Dirt  and  Disease — Com- 
mon Neglect  of  Bathing — Bath-houses  in  Europe — The  Jolly  Frenchman — 
Sea-bathing — Directions  for  Using  the  Warm  Bath — Right  Temperatures  of 
the  Water — Exercise  and  Beauty. 

LET  us  again  refer  to  the  value — the  importance — the  divine  influ- 
ence of  beauty  in  a  world — a  universe — where  all  is  beautiful. 
A  recent  writer  on  the  subject  has  asked  :  "  What  is  the  use  of 
beauty  ?  Is  it  intended  merely  to  amuse  the  fancy  for  a  time,  and  then 
pall,  fade,  and  be  forgotten  ?  In  a  system  where  nothing  else  is  lost, 
where  all  is  fitness  and  coherence,  and  where  each  part,  however 
minute,  seems  as  necessary  to  the  whole  as  a  single  link  is  to  the  con- 
tinuity of  a  chain,  is  this  quality  alone  without  definite  meaning  or 
permanent  purpose?"  And  he  answers  the  question  by  observing 
that  "  analogy  is  against  the  supposition,  and. we  must  either  set  down 
beauty  as  an  unmeaning  superfluity  in  the  scheme  of  the  creation,  or 
else  assign  it  an  importance  commensurate  with  the  space  it  occupies 
in  our  thoughts."  Every  rational  man  will  do  the  latter. 

"Then  let  us  not,  like  thoughtless  fools,  despise 
The  things  of  earth  which  are  the  things  of  beauty. 
All  beauty  here  hath  but  one  aim  and  mission — 
To  guide  our  spirits  to  that  heavenly  portal, 
Which,  to  the  earth-chained  spirit,  is  a  vision 
Of  beauty  all  unchanging,  all  immortal." 

Cleanliness  is  a  subject  of  such  importance  to  our  well-being  that 
little  need  be  said  in  its  favor,  were  it  not  that  many  persons  who 
loudly  declaim  about  it  are  negligent  of  it  themselves.  That  it  is 
essential  to  the  health,  comfort,  and  personal  appearance  of  the  indi- 
vidual, is  so  generally  admitted,  that  even  those  who  do  not  practice 

363 


366  BATHING   FOR   HEALTH   AND   BEAUTY. 

liness  which  should  be  practiced  by  all,  and  to  which  reference  cannot 
be  too  frequent  or  urgent.  * 

The  ill  consequences  of  uncleanliness,  and  particularly  of  a  dirty 
skin — a  skin  loaded  and  obstructed  with  adhering  refuse  matter  dis- 
carded by  itself — are  numerous  and  serious.  Such  matter  forms  a 
favorable  medium  for  the  absorption,  and  the  transmission  to  the 
internal  portions  of  the  body,  of  noxious  effluvia,  vapors  and  gases, 
miasmatar  and  the  aerial  germs  of  infectious  and  contagious  diseases. 

How  We  Become  Poisoned. 

It  is  said  that  the  greater  part  of  (contagious)  poisons  are  con- 
veyed to  us  through  the  external  surface  of  our  bodies ;  and  it  is  fully 
proved  that  poison  already  communicated  has  been  by  cleanliness 
removed  before  it  could  actually  produce  any  bad  effects.  We  here 
allude,  in  particular,  to  frequent  washing,  bathing,  rinsing  the  mouth, 
combing  and  brushing  the  hair,  and  often  changing  the  linen,  clothing, 
and  bedding. 

Such  are  the  immediate  effects  of  neglected  ablution  of  the  skin, 
and  the  neglect  of  other  acts  of  personal  cleanliness ;  the  further  con- 
sequences are  of  an  equally  serious  character.  The  blood  being 
deprived  of  one  of  its  sources  of  oxygen,  and  of  one  of  the  outlets  of 
its  carbon  and  saline  matter,  becomes  deteriorated,  the  functions  of 
nutrition  imperfect,  and  the  temperature  of  the  body  lessened.  The 
matters  that  should  be  thrown  out  of  the  system  through  the  skin  are 
retained,  and  have  to  be  eliminated  by  other  organs.  The  lungs,  the 
kidneys,  the  liver,  the  bowels,  are  each,  in  their  turn,  overtasked  to 
perform  the  functions  of  another  organ. 

At  length  they  suffer  from  exhaustion,  the  health  is  disturbed,  and 
incipient  disease  follows.  The  predisposition  exists,  and  only  waits 
for  an  exciting  cause  to  give  it  full  development.  The  period  of 
incubation  may  be  short  or  long — weeks,  months,  even  years- 
according  to  the  age  and  constitutional  vigor  of  the  person  ;  but  the 
evil  day  comes  at  last,  and  skin-diseases,  nervous  affections,  diarrhoea, 
liver-complaints,  consumption,  dropsy,  visceral  obesity  or  some  other 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
BEAUTIFUL  SKIN  AND  COMPLEXION. 

A  Garment  of  Surpassing  Loveliness — Structure  of  the  Skin — Pores  for  Perspira 
tion— Absorbent  Vessels— How  to  Beautify  the  Skin— Effect  of  Heat  and 
Cold — Ablution — Anointing — Recipes  for  Skin  Washes— Effect  of  Sunlight — 
Benefits  of  Friction — Flesh-gloves — Diseases  of  the  Skin — Black  Spots  and 
Marks — Boils — Blueness  and  Discolorations — Dandruff— Pimples — Itch — Scaly 
Eruptions — Treatment  for  Skin  Ailments  —  Freckles — Moles  —  Paleness — 
Roughness — Redness — Scurf  and  Scurvy — Pits  from  Small-pox — Wrinkles — 
Abrasions — Bruises — Burns  and  Scalds — Cuts  and  Incised  Wounds — Excoria- 
tions—Frost-bites— Scars. 

EVERY  person  knows  what  the  skin  is,  its  external  appearance 
and  its  general  properties ;  but  there  are  many  of  our  readers 
who  may  not  be  aware  of  its  peculiar  and  wonderful  construc- 
tion, its  compound  character  and  its  manifold  uses.  It  not  merely 
acts  as  an  organ  of  sense  and  a  protection  to  the  surface  of  the  body, 
but  it  clothes  it,  as  it  were,  in  a  garment  of  the  most  delicate  texturr 
and  of  the  most  surpassing  loveliness. 

In  perfect  health  it  is  gifted  with  exquisite"  sensibility,  and  while  it 
possesses  the  softness  of  velvet  and  exhibits  the  delicate  hues  of  the 
lily,  the  carnation  and  the  rose,  it  is  nevertheless  gifted  with  extraor- 
dinary strength  and  power  of  resisting  external  injury,  and  is  not 
only  capable  of  repairing,  but  of  actually  renewing  itself.  Though 
unprotected  with  hair,  wool  or  fur,  or  with  feathers,  or  scales,  as  with 
the  brute  creation,  the  human  skin  is  furnished  with  innumerable 
nerves,  which  endow  it  with  extreme  susceptibility  to  all  the  various 
vicissitudes  of  climate  and  of  weather,  and  prompt  the  mind  to  pro- 
vide suitable  materials,  in  the  shape  of  clothing,  to  shield  it  under  all 
the  circumstances  in  which  it  can  be  placed. 

The  horse,  the  dog,  the  lion,  cannot  change  its  hair  or  the  bear  its 
fur,  even  though  it  be  transported  to  a  climate  the  reverse  of  that  in 
which  it  was  born  ;  it  must  alike  wear  the  robe  of  Nova  Zembla  undet 

373 


374  BEAUTIFUL   SKIN  AND   COMPLEXION. 

the  scorching  sun  of  Africa,  or  that  of  the  tropics  on  the  frozen  plains 
of  Siberia,  and  it  will  dwindle  from  this  change,  and  probably  perish  ; 
but  man  can  suit  his  clothing  to  the  latitude,  and  rove  from  clime  to 
clime  with  comparative  impunity.  His  intelligence  enables  him  to 
shield  his  skin  from  all  the  "  skyey  influences  "  with  proper  raiment, 
and  his  taste  leads  him  so  to  select  and  prepare  this  raiment  as  to 
serve  both  for  the  protection  and  adornment  of  his  person. 

Three  Layers  or  Membranes. 

The  skin,  though  apparently  a  single  membrane,  is  composed  of 
three  distinct  layers  or  membranes,  each  of  which  has  special  duties 
to  perform.  The  exterior  of  these,  or  that  one  which  immediately 
meets  the  eye,  is  called  the  cuticle,  epidermis  or  scarf-skin.  It  is  of 
uneven  thickness,  in  some  parts  being  extremely  thin  and  delicate,  and 
in  others,  particularly  those  exposed  to  friction,  thicker  and  harder ; 
in  this  respect  being  accommodated  to  the  nature  of  the  part  it  covers. 
It  is  an  albuminous  tissue,  and  in  its  general  physical  and  chemical 
properties,  for  the  most  part,  resembles  the  nails  and  the  quills  of 
birds,  from  which  it  differs  chiefly  in  degree  of  induration. 

It  is  destitute  of  feeling  and  of  absorbent  power,  and  thus  fulfils  its 
duty  as  a  protective  covering  of  the  body  in  a  more  effective  manner 
than  it  otherwise  would  do.  Throughout  its  whole  surface  it  is 
thickly  pervaded  with  minute  pores,  to  permit  the  escape  of  the  per- 
spiration and  other  exhalations  from  the  body.  Its  reparation  and 
renewal  are  carried  on  at  its  under  surface,  whilst  its  damaged,  worn- 
out  and  useless  portions  are  thrown  off  in  the  form  of  whitish  dust  or 
minute  flakes  or  scales. 

Immediately  under  the  cuticle,  and  resting  on  the  cutis,  is  the 
mucous  network.  It  is  a  thin  layer  of  soft,  pulpy  matter,  of  a  fibrous 
character  and  reticular  form,  and  appears  to  be  the  seat  of  the  color 
of  the  skin,  with  the  hue  of  which  it  always  coincides.  It  may  be 
temporarily  blanched  by  the  action  of  weak  solutions  of  chlorine, 
chloride  of  lime,  and  other  bleachers. 

Beneath  the  mucous  network,  and  forming  the  third,  last  in  succession 


BEAUTIFUL   SKIN   AND   COMPLEXION.  375 

inwards,  and  principal  tcgumentary  covering  of  the  body,  is  the  derma 
or  true  skin.  It  is  a  highly  sensitive,  vascular,  gelatinous  texture,  of  a 
very  complex  structure.  It  is  of  a  whitish  color  and  fibrous,  and 
appears  to  be  made  up  of  an  irregular  species  of  network.  Closer 
examination  shows  it  to  be  composed  of  condensed  cellular  tissue,  and 
to  be  very  thickly  supplied  with  absorbent  and  excretory  vessels,  and 
with  arteries,  veins,  and  nerves. 

A  Most  Delicate,  Perfect  Structure. 

It  is  here  that  the  minute  capillaries  of  the  arteries  spread  them- 
selves out,  and,  by  means  of  the  ducts  of  the  sudorific  glands  or 
follicles,  exhale  the  peculiar  secretion  which  we  call  perspiration  ;  here 
the  so-called  roots  of  the  hair  terminate,  and  find  nourishment ;  and 
here  all  the  other  functions  of  the  skin  are  performed.  It  is  this  por- 
tion of  the  tegumentary  covering  of  the  body  that  gives  the  relative 
thickness  to  the  whole  skin ;  and  it  is  the  one  which,  when  the  scarf- 
skin  and  hair  are  removed,  is  converted  into  leather  by  the  processes 
of  tanning. 

Such  is  the  general  structure  of  the  human  skin,  so  complicated 
and  yet  so  perfect,  so  delicate  and  yet  so  useful.  As  a  protective 
natural  covering  of  the  body,  in  conjunction  with  the  animal  senses, 
instincts  and  appetites,  and,  above  all,  with  an  intelligent  free-will,  it 
surpasses  that  of  any  other  animal.  It  is  absolute  perfection.  It 
combines  within  itself  the  powers  of  an  organ  of  sense,  of  excretion, 
secretion,  respiration  and  nutrition.  The  integrity  of  its  functions  is 
not  only  highly  conducive  to  health,  but  is  absolutely  essential  to  its 
perfect  enjoyment,  to  both  corporeal  and  mental  vigor,  and  to  beauty. 
Surely  the  preservation  and  promotion  of  this  excellence,  and  the 
removal  or  alleviation  of  the  effects  of  disease  and  accident  that  impair 
it,  deserve  our  serious  attention. 

In  health,  the  management  of  the  skin  is  extremely  simple,  and 
consists  chiefly  in  habitual  cleanliness  and  daily  personal  ablution,  as 
noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter.  To  preserve  the  softness  of  its 
texture,  and  the  delicacy  of  its  hues,  it  is  also  necessary  to  protect  it, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
THE  HAIR — THE  GLORY  OF  WOMAN. 

AM  Unrivalled  Ornament — Hair  of  the  Orientals — Premature  Decay — Effect  of 
Mental  Emotions— Physical  Structure— Hair-bulbs  and  Tubes— Chemical  Con- 
stitution— Biography  of  a  Hair — Necessity  of  General  Health — Ecst  Manage- 
ment— Use  of  Comb  and  Brush — Curl-papers — Crisping-tongs — Friction — Two 
Methods  of  Dressing — Objections  to  Artificial  Styles — Cleansing  the  Scalp — 
Natural  Arrangement  of  the  Hair — Cutting  and  Clipping— A  Dirty  Habit— 
luxuriant  Growth — Curliness  and  Waviness — Fixing  the  Hair  in  Position. 

THE  hair  is  not  only  invaluable  as  a  protective  covering  of  the 
head,  but  it  gives  a  finish  and  imparts  unequalled  grace  to  the 
features   which    it   surrounds.      Sculptors   and    painters    have 
bestowed   on   its   representation  their  highest  skill  and  care,  and  its 
description   and   praises  have  been  sung  in  the  sweetest  lays  by  the 
poets  of  all  ages.     Whether  in  flowing  ringlets,  chaste  and  simple 
bands,  or  graceful  braids  artistically  disposed,  it  is  equally  charming, 
and  clothes  with  fascination  even  the  simplest  forms  of  beauty : 

"  O  wondrous,  wondrous,  is  her  hair  ! 
A  braided  wreath  of  golden  brown, 
That  drops  on  neck  and  temples  bare. " 

If  there  be  one  point  more  than  another  in  which  the  tastes  of 
mankind  appear  to  agree,  it  is  that  rich,  luxuriant,  flowing  hair  is  not 
merely  beautiful  in  itself,  but  an  important — nay,  an  essential  auxiliary 
to  the  highest  development  of  the  personal  charms.  Among  all  the 
refined  nations  of  antiquity,  as  in  all  time  since,  the  care,  arrangement, 
and  decoration  of  the  hair  formed  a  prominent  and  generally  the  lead- 
ing portion  of  their  toilet. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  and  Assyrians,  and  other  Eastern  nations, 
bestowed  on  it  the  most  elaborate  attention.  The  ancient  Jews,  like 
their  modern  descendants,  were  proverbial  for  the  luxuriance  and  rich- 
ness of  their  hair,  and  the  care  which  they  devoted  to  it.  Glossy, 
flowing,  black  hair  is  represented  to  have  been  the  "  glory  "  of  the 

393 


394  THE   HAIR. 

ancient  Jewess,  and  in  her  person  to  have  exhibited  charms  of  the 
most  imposing  character ;  whilst  the  chasteness  of  its  arrangement  was 
only  equalled  by  its  almost  magic  beauty.  Nor  was  this  luxuriance, 
and  this  attention  to  the  hair,  confined  to  the  gentler  sex ;  for  among 
the  pagan  Orientals  the  hair  and  the  beard  of  the  males  were  not  less 
sedulously  attended  to.  Among  the  males  of  Judah  and  Israel,  long 
flowing  ringlets  appear  to  have  been  regarded  as  highly  desirable  and 
attractive. 

The  reputed  beauty  and  the  prodigious  length  and  weight  of  the 
hair  of  Absalom,  the  son  of  David,  as  recorded  in  the  sacred  text, 
would  be  sufficient  to  startle  the  most  enthusiastic  modern  dandy  that 
cultivates  the  crinal  ornament  of  his  person.  Solomon  the  wise, 
another  son  of  David,  conceived  the  beauty  of  the  hair  sufficiently 
dignified  to  express  figuratively  the  graces  of  the  church. 

Hair  of  French   Royalty. 

Long,  luxuriant  hair  was  as  much  esteemed  by  many  of  the  ancient 
European  nations  as  by  the  Asiatics,  although  their  attentions  to  it 
were  of  a  ruder  and  less  elaborate  character.  This  was  particularly 
the  case  with  the  northern  nations,  and  with  some  of  those  of  western 
Europe.  The  cultivation  and  regard  of  the  hair  was  a  passion  in  Gaul, 
and  cutting  and  cropping  it  were  employed  as  punishments. 

The  ancient  royal  family  of  France,  as  a  particular  mark  of  distinc- 
tion and  privilege  of  the  king  and  the  princes  of  the  blood,  had  to  wear 
"  long  hair  artfully  dressed  and  curled."  The  clerical  tonsure  is  said 
to  be  of  apostolic  institution.  At  a  later  date  Pope  Anicetus  forbade 
the  clergy  to  wear  long  hair. 

In  modern  times,  the  high  estimation  in  which  a  beautiful  head  of 
hair  is  held,  is  probably  as  great  as  at  any  former  period  of  the  world's 
history.  It  is  still  regarded  as  an  important  ingredient  in  manly 
beauty,  and  as  one  of  the  very  essentials  of  feminine  loveliness  and 
fascination.  All  persons  are  proud  of  it — all  covet  it — all  admire  it. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  truly  said,  that  all  persons,  except  the  most  indolent, 
vulgar,  and  degraded,  are  more  or  less  sedulous  in  their  endeavors,  in 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
RESTORATION  OF  THE  HAIR. 

Early  Decay — Cold  Water  and  Friction — Stimulating  Applications— Restoring  the 
Health  of  the  Scalp— Baldness— The  Hair  Affected  by  Old  Age— Other  Causes 
— Thick  Hats — Frequent,  Close  Cutting — Spanish  Flies  or  Cantharides — Oils 
and  Pomades — Electricity — Diet  and  Regular  Habits — Tonics — Gray  Hairs, 
and  How  to  Treat  Them — Morbid  Dryness  of  the  Hair — Use  of  Glycerine — 
Matting  and  Felting — Excessive  Scurfiness — Rosemary  and  Thyme — Caution 
Against  Quack  Remedies — How  Superfluous  Hairs  are  Destroyed— Cleansing 
the  Partings — Borax  and  Ammonia. 

THE  hair  is  subject  to  various  deviations  from  the  healthy  standard, 
all  of  which,  as  already  hinted,  depend  immediately  on  the  state 
of  the  scalp  from  which  it  springs,  and  indirectly  on  various 
causes,  of  which  the  principal  have  been  enumerated.     Among  them 
the  following  may  claim  a  special  notice  : 

The  gradual  impoverishment  and  decay  of  the  hair — shown  by  its 
becoming  finer  and  thinner,  with  greater  or  less  loss  of  its  brightness 
and  color,  and  a  larger  quantity  than  usual  being  removed  on  each 
application  of  the  comb  and  brush — whether  premature  or  the  result 
of  advancing  life,  is  most  likely  to  be  arrested,  or  retarded,  by  atten- 
tion to  the  general  health  and  habits,  and  careful  avoidance  of  any 
article  of  head-dress  or  other  matter  which  is  known  to  be  prejudicial 
to  the  hair. 

The  special  treatment  may  consist  in  daily,  or  as  frequently  as 
possible,  washing  the  head  in  cold  water,  gentle  continued  friction 
with  the  hair-brush,  and  the  use  of  stimulating  applications  of  a 
similar  kind  to  those  already  noticed,  but  of  rather  greater  strength, 
so  as  to  produce  a  slight  but  sensible  excitation  of  the  skin  of  the 
scalp.  Habitually  disordered  stomach,  bowels,  or  nerves,  and  par- 
ticularly biliousness  and  dyspepsia,  frequently  affect  the  hair  in  this 
way,  and  should  be  met  by  medical  treatment,  of  which  antacids,  and 
tonics,  as  quinine  ^nd  iron,  should  generally  form  a  part. 

411 


412  RESTORATION   OF   THE   HAIR. 

Baldness,  or  destitution  or  loss  of  the  hair,  more  especially  of  that 
of  the  crown  and  fore-part  of  the  head,  whether  actual  or  impending, 
may  next  be  noticed.  Gray  hair  and  baldness  depending  on  old  age 
are  natural  consequences  of  man's  infirmity,  and  must  be  regarded  as 
evidence  of  failing  vigor,  rather  than  in  the  light  of  a  disease.  Pre- 
mature loss  of  hair  may  be  produced  by  various  causes,  some  of  which 
have  been  already  noticed.  It  is  common  after  severe  fevers,  and 
after  erysipelas  and  other  serious  inflammatory  affections  of  the  scalp ; 
and  it  is  frequently  caused  by  external  pressure,  friction,  or  violence, 
want  of  the  necessary  exposure  of  the  head  to  the  air,  and  by  such 
other  local  actions  and  conditions  which,  when  long  continued, 
interrupt  the  normal  functions  of  the  skin. 

Debility  and  Loss  of  Hair. 

Persons  with  a  consumptive,  scorbutic,  scrofulous,  or  syphilitic  taint, 
or  of  a  general  bad  habit  of  body,  are  apt  to  lose  their  hair  early.  In 
these  cases  the  loss  probably  arises  from  debility  or  paralysis  of  the 
vessels  of  the  skin,  and  the  consequent  insufficient  action  and  nutrition 
of  the  hair-bulbs.  When  it  occurs  in  persons  of  or  under  the  middle 
age,  and  apparently  enjoying  good  health,  it  may  be  often  traced  to 
the  pernicious  practice  of  constantly  wearing  a  hard  non-ventilating 
hat,  or  to  disordered  stomach  or  liver,  habitual  smoking  or  hartf 
drinking,  irregular  habits,  late  hours,  or  the  like.  Excessive  anxiety 
or  grief,  and  intense  study  and  thoughtfulness,  also  tend  to  promote 
the  early  decay  and  loss  of  the  hair. 

The  natural  baldness  of  the  aged,  and  frequently  the  premature 
baldness  of  earlier  years,  particularly  in  the  studious  and  grief-worn, 
arises  from  the  reduced  energy  of  the  circulation  in  the  vessels  of  the 
scalp,  and  its  consequent  gradual  attenuation,  until  it  becomes  too 
thin  to  afford  sufficient  space  for  the  performance  of  the  functions  of 
the  hair-bulbs  and  their  associated  organs,  and  too  scantily  supplied 
with  blood  for  their  due  nutrition  and  support.  In  such  cases  it  will 
be  found  that,  owing  to  this  attenuation,  the  scalp  covers  a  larger 
portion  of  the  skull  than  it  previously  did  when  vigorous ;  and  that 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
BEAUTY  OF  FACE  AND  FEATURES. 

Harmony  and  Right  Proportion — The  Forehead — Skin  Eruptions—  The  Eyes— 
Most  Expressive  Feature — How  to  Treat  the  Eyes — Belladonna — Dimness  of 
Age — Remedies  for  Discoloration — Effects  of  Dust  and  Dirt — Eyelashes  and 
Eyebrows — The  Nose — How  to  Mould  and  Beautify  the  Nose — Human  Mouth 
and  Lips— Chapped  Lips— The  Teeth— What  Injures  the  Teeth— Tooth-pow- 
ders and  Use  of  the  Brush — Use  of  Charcoal — The  Ears — Wearing  Ear-rings — 
Chin  and  Throat— Neck  of  Beauty. 

THE  beauty  of  the  face  depends  chiefly  on  all  its  several  features 
being  pleasingly  moulded  and  in  "perfect  keeping"  with  each 
other.  Without  this  proportion  between  the  individual  features, 
the  most  delicate  complexion,  the  brightest  eyes,  the  softest  cheeks, 
the  finely-moulded  mouth,  and  the  ruddiest  lips,  may  fail  to  charm, 
and,  by  contrast,  may  even  disfigure  where  they  should  adorn.  It  is 
this  excellence  of  proportion  that  constitutes  one  of  the  chief  elements 
of  personal  beauty. 

The  possession  of  an  elevated  and  prominent  forehead  is  correctly 
regarded  as  one  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  human  race.  Its 
erectness  and  extent  are  characteristic  of  reason  and  high  intellectual 
powers,  and  its  development  is  exactly  proportionate  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  species  and  of  the  individual. 

A  lofty,  ample  forehead  is  the  attribute  of  the  enlightened  white 
race ;  a  receding  forehead,  that  of  the  Negro.  Beyond  a  certain  limit 
reason  disappears,  and  idiocy  commences.  The  absence  of  a  true 
forehead  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  brute  creation.  Its  excel- 
lence is  an  important  ingredient  in  personal  beauty,  and  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  possession  of  a  superior  mind. 

The  toilet  of  the  forehead  is  limited  chiefly  to  the  arrangement  of 

the  hair.     The  possessor  of  a  beautiful  forehead  is  seldom  disposed  to 

conceal  any  portion  of  it,  or  to  modify  its  apparent  form  by  such 

means.     The  practice  of  wearing  the  hair  over  portions  of  the  fore- 

420 


BEAUTY  OF  FACE  AND  FEATURES.        421 

head  naturally  bare  is  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  the  head,  and  to  the 
vigor  of  the  mind. 

The  contrary  practice  of  throwing  or  fixing  the  hair  in  unnatural 
positions,  backward  from  the  forehead,  is  equally  objectionable,  for 
reasons  already  noticed.  The  defects  of  an  ill-formed  forehead  may, 
in  general,  be  rendered  less  apparent,  and  often  wholly  obscured,  by 
an  appropriate  arrangement  of  the  hair  about  it — a  matter  in  which 
the  taste  of  the  individual,  and  the  example  of  others,  will  be  the  best 
guides. 

Beauty  and  Expression  of  the  Eyes.     . 

The  eyes,  of  all  the  features,  stand  pre-eminent  for  their  beauty  and 
ever-varying  powers  of  expression,  and  for  being  the  organs  of  the 
most  exalted,  delicate  and  useful  of  the  senses.  It  is  they  alone  that 
"  reveal  the  external  forms  of  beauty  to  the  mind,  and  enable  it  to 
perceive  them,  even  at  a  distance,  with  the  lightning  speed  of  light 
It  is  they  alone  that  clothe  the  whole  creation  with  the  magic  charms 
of  color,  and  fix  on  every  object  the  identity  of  figure."  It  is  the 
eyes  alone,  or  chiefly,  that  reveal  the  emotions  of  the  mind  to  others, 
and  that  clothe  the  features  with  the  language  of  the  soul.  Melting 
with  pity,  or  glowing  with  hope,  or  redolent  with  love,  benevolence, 
desire  or  emulation,  they  impart  to  the  countenance  those  vital  fasci- 
nations which  are  the  peculiar  attributes  of  man. 

The  beauty  and  expression  of  the  human  eye  have  furnished  themes 
for  both  poets  and  prose- writers  in  all  ages.  Sculptors  and  painters 
have  bestowed  their  highest  skill  and  most  laborious  efforts  on  its 
delineation,  and  anatomists  and  physiologists  have  investigated  and 
described  its  wonderful  structure  and  functions  with  a  degree  of  zeal 
and  eloquence  perhaps  greater  than  that  devoted  to  any  other  organ. 

Physiognomists  tell  us  that  the  peculiar  form,  size  and  expression 
of  the  eyes,  afford  reliable  indications  of  the  disposition  and  mental 
character  of  the  individual  ;  whilst  the  phrenologist  assumes,  among 
other  things  connected  with  these  organs  and  the  parts  adjacent  to 
them,  that  prominent  eyes  indicate  the  presence  of  the  organ  of  lan- 
guage, and  that  their  possessor  can  always  express  his  thoughts  in  words. 


422  BEAUTY  OF   FACE  AND   FEATURES. 

A  beautiful  eye  is  one  that  is  full,  clear  and  brilliant,  appropriate  in 
color  to  the  complexion,  and,  in  form,  to  the  features,  and  of  which 
the  connected  parts — the  eyelids,  eyelashes  and  eyebrows,  which,  with 


MODEL  OF  FEMALE  BEAUTY. 

it,  in  a  general  view  of  the  subject,  collectively  form  the  external  eye 
— are  also  beautiful,  and  in  keeping  with  it. 

The  management  of  the  eyes,  in  connection  with  the  toilet,  con- 
sists chiefly  in  daily  bathing   or  washing  them   with   pure  water,  and 


BEAUTY   OF   FACE   AND   FEATURES.  425 

them  with  a  pair  of  sharp  scissors.  The  practice  is  most  effective 
when  commenced  in  early  childhood.  The  least  possible  portion  of 
their  extremities  should  be  removed ;  and  the  operation,  to  be  neatly 
done,  must  be  performed  by  a  second  person. 

To  Beautify  the  Eyebrows. 

The  eyebrows,  unlike  the  eyelashes,  should  never  be  cut,  or  in  any 
way  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  scissors  or  razor.  Their  beauty 
consists  in  their  being  smooth,  glossy,  and  well-defined,  in  having 
little  breadth  vertically,  and  in  extending  in  a  graceful,  arched  line 
over  the  eyes.  Cutting  them  ultimately  destroys  these  qualities,  by 
causing  them  to  grow  coarse,  stiff,  and  irregular. 

After  washing  the  face,  the  fingers  or  napkin  should  be  passed  over 
them  to  smooth  them  and  to  set  the  hairs  in  their  places.  This  is  all 
that  is  required.  Some  ladies,  however,  when  making  their  toilet, 
pass  the  finger,  very  slightly  moistened  with  oil  or  pomade,  over  the 
eyebrows,  to  darken  them  and  give  them  gloss  ;  but  the  practice  is 
not  to  be  recommended.  An  occasional  gray  or  prominent  bristly 
hair  in  the  eyebrows  may  be  plucked  out  with  the  tweezers.  It 
should  never  be  cut  off,  as  is  the  common  practice. 

The  nose,  though  so  necessary  to  the  general  make-up,  seems  to 
labor  under  the  misfortune  of  being  generally  turned  into  ridicule 
whenever  it  forms  the  subject  on  the  tapis.  How  far  it  deserves  the 
slights  and  fun  so  frequently  "  poked  "  at  it,  we  must  leave  the  happy 
possessors  of  noses  to  form  their  own  opinions.  There  have  been, 
however,  many  excellent  and  philosophical  writers  who  have  deemed 
the  human  nose  worthy  of  their  serious  consideration,  and  even  of 
eulogy. 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  the  great  painter,  regards  a  well-formed  nose 
as  essential  to  personal  beauty.  He  tells  us,  that  "  the  line  that  forms 
the  arch  of  the  nose  is  beautiful  when  it  is  straight;"  and  he  further 
observes,  "  this,  then,  is  the  central  form  which  is  oftener  met  with 
than  either  the  concave,  convex,  or  any  other  irregular  form  which 
can  be  produced."  Sir  Charles  Bell  declares,  among  other  matters, 


428        BEAUTY  OF  FACE  AND  FEATURES. 

Hairs  in  the  nose,  when  troublesome,  may  be  removed  with  the 
tweezers.  It  should,  however,  be  recollected  that  they  are  not  idly 
placed  there  by  nature ;  one  of  their  purposes  being  to  act  as  a  filter 
to  the  air  we  breathe.  Persons  who  are  much  exposed  to  a  dusty 
atmosphere,  had,  therefore,  better  not  remove  them. 

Beautiful  Mouth  and  Lips. 

The  beauty  of  the  human  mouth  and  lips,  the  delicacy  of  their 
formation  and  tints,  their  power  of  expression,  which  is  only  inferior 
to  that  of  the  eyes,  and  their  elevated  position  as  the  media,  with  the 
palate,  tongue,  and  teeth,  by  which  we  communicate  our  thoughts  to 
others  in  an  audible  form,  need  scarcely  be  dilated  on  here.  The 
poet  tells  us  that — 

"The  lips  of  woman  out  of  roses  take 

The  tints  with  which  they  ever  stain  themselves. 

They  are  the  beautiful  and  lofty  shelves 
Where  rests  the  sweetness  which  the  young  hours  make, 

And  which  the  earnest  boy,  whom  we  call  Love, 
Will  often  sip  in  sorrow  or  in  play. 

Health  when  it  comes  doth  ruddiness  approve, 
But  his  strong  foe  soon  flutters  it  away  I 

Disease  and  health  for  a  warm  pair  of  lips, 
Like  York  and  Lancaster,  wage  active  strife ; 

One  on  his  banner  front  the  White  rose  keeps, 
And  one  the  Red  ;  and  thus  with  woman's  life, 

Her  lips  are  made  a  battle-field  for  those 

Who  struggle  for  the  color  of  a  rose." 

A  beautiful  mouth  is  one  that  is  moderately  small,  and  has  a  well- 
defined  and  graceful  outline  ;  and  beautiful  lips  are  such  as  are  grace- 
fully moulded,  neither  thick  nor  thin,  nor  compressed  nor  lax,  and 
that  are  endowed  with  expression,  and  tinted  with  the  hues  of  health. 

The  lips  are  very  liable  to  suffer  when  exposed  to  cold  and  drying 
winds.  The  most  common  effects  of  such  exposure  are  chaps  or 
small  fissures  in  them,  and  a  species  of  erysipelatous  eruption  con- 
sisting of  small  clusters  of  minute  vesicles,  which  soon  become  moist 
from  the  discharge  of  the  watery  humor  which  they  contain. 


PART  V. 

POLITENESS;  OR,  \\TOMAN  IN 
;  SOCIETY.  ; 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
TASTEFUL  AND  BECOMING  DRESS. 

Every  I^ady  Should  Pay  Attention  to  Dress— Fitness — Subordinate  to  the  Person 
— Suited  to  Different  Seasons — Graceful  Curves — Hints  on  Colors — Variety  in 
Costume — Dressing  the  Hair — The  Parasol — Bonnets — "  Nut-brown  Maids" — 
Use  of  Veils — Dress  for  the  Neck — Sore  Throats — Sudden  Changes  of  Covering 
— Wearing  Ornaments — Vulgarity  of  Too  Much  Jewelry. 

T    TOMEN  are  sometimes  charged  with  devoting  too  much  atten- 
\^       tion  to  matters  of  dress.     There  is,  perhaps,  some  foundation 
for  the  accusation,  for  these  things  should  not  certainly  be 
made  the  principal  business  of  their  lives  ;  but  we  would  by  no  means 
counsel   them  to  treat    dress    as    a    trifling    or   unimportant   matter. 
The  grand  cause  of  regret  is,  not  that  they  devote  themselves  is  zeal- 
ously to  it,  but  that  their  studies  and  labors  in  that  direction  are  not 
guided  by  a  better  knowledge  and  more  artistic  tastes. 

With  all  the  time,  attention,  and  labor  bestowed  upon  the  subject, 
comparatively  few  women,  especially  in  this  country,  dress  well,  either 
in  an  esthetic  or  a  hygienic  point  of  view ;  and  what  is  intended  to 
heighten  their  charms,  too  often  obscures,  and,  in  the  end,  destroys 
them.  A  woman  who  has  herself  the  reputation  of  dressing  well,  and 
who  has  had  abundant  opportunities  of  observing  toilets  of  different 
nations,  says  :  "  The  great  majority  of  my  sex  understand  the  art  of 
dress  no  further  than  that  '  fine  feathers  make  fine  birds  ; '  hence,  they 
dress  more  or  less  in  bad  taste." 
434 


TASTEFUL   DRESS.  435 

The  fact  is,  dress  is  not  studied  as  an  art,  and  in  the  light  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  taste,  as  it  should  be,  but  is  subjected  to  the 
arbitrary  and  senseless  rules  of  fashion. 

Fashion  is  an  arch  tyrant  whom  we  would  gladly  overthrow,  but 
she  is  securely  enthroned  beyond  the  reach  of  our  blows.  A  direct 
attack  would  be  useless.  Our  only  hope  is  in  gradually  undermining 
her  power  by  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  the  cultivation  of  popular 
tastes.  To  contribute  to  such  an  extent  as  our  very  limited  space  will 
permit,  to  these  ends,  we  offer  the  following  hints  : 

Rules   for   Dress. 

Dress  has  primarily  two  functions — to  clothe  and  to  ornament ;  but 
use  and  beauty,  in  this  as  in  other  cases,  so  far  from  requiring  any 
sacrifice  for  combination,  are  found,  each  in  the  highest  degree,  where 
both  are  most  fully  obtained — the  fittest  or  most  comfortable  dress 
being  that  which  is  most  graceful  or  becoming.  Fitness  is  the 
primary  demand,  and  the  dress  that  appears  uncomfortable  is  un- 
tasteful. 

"  Dress  is  always  to  be  considered  as  secondary  to  the  person." 
This  is  a  fundamental  maxim  in  the  art  of  costume,  but  is  often  lost 
sight  of,  and  dress  made  obtrusive  at  the  expense  of  the  individuality 
of  the  wearer.  A  man's  vest  or  cravat  must  not  seem  too  important 
a  part  of  him  ;  and  a  woman  should  not  be  wholly  lost  in  her  skirts. 
If  you  are  not  better  and  more  beautiful  than  your  clothes,  you  are, 
indeed,  a  man  or  a  woman  of  straw. 

Mrs.  E.  Oakes  Smith  very  happily  says  :  "  The  greatest  compli- 
ment that  can  be  paid  to  a  woman  is  to  forget  her  dress,  or  rather  not 
to  see  it — as  proving  it  to  be  so  characteristic  that  we  are  not  incom- 
moded by  observation,  and  are  thus  left  to  unalloyed  companionship. 
We  see,  as  it  were,  face  to  face,  and  not  through  whalebone  and 
starch.  The  rose  in  her  hair  is  a  part  of  her  womanhood,  and  the 
robe,  in  hue  and  shape,  is  so  a  part  of  her  mold  that  we  do  not  see  it, 
but  her.  All  is  harmony,  and  she  is  the  genius  to  which  everything 
else  has  become  subordinate.' ' 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 
DEPORTMENT  AND   MANNERS. 

Importance  of  Good  Behavior — Beauty  Marred  by  Lack  of  Grace — Carriage  of  the 
Body  Reveals  Character — Absence  of  Affectation — Self-possession — A  Graceful 
Walk — The  Soldier's  Drill — Avoiding  Offensive  Habits — Disorderly  Costume — 
Coarse  Eating  and  Drinking — Disagreeable  Noises — L,ove  to  Others — Promot- 
ing Universal  Happiness — Selfishness — Right  of  Privacy — Casual  Acquaint- 
ances— Haughtiness  and  Pride — Anger — Rudeness — Cheerful  Demeanor — 
Drones  and  Workers — Empty  Ornaments — Keeping  Engagements — Diffusing 
Good  Cheer. 

yxEPORTMENT  is  the  manner  of  carrying  one's  self;    carriage, 

1  )     manner,  or  behavior.     Good  looks  are  very  desirable  ;  but  far 

more   depends   upon  behavior.     The  neatness  of  the  person, 

upon  which  we  have  so  strongly  insisted,  is  a  part  of  behavior ;  so  is 

dress,  which  is  a  mode  of  expression ;  and  which  gives  us  methods  of 

enhancing  and  displaying  beauties,  as  well  as  of  concealing  defects. 

But  a  handsome  and  well-dressed  person  may  be  awkward  and  con- 
strained in  manner ;  stiff  or  slouching  in  gait ;  angular  and  extrava- 
gant in  gesture ;  sullen,  haughty,  insolent,  cold,  rude ;  or  shy  and 
sheepish  ;  or  craving,  fawning,  and  impertinently  familiar.  There  are 
a  hundred  graces  and  excellencies  of  manner  in  the  position  of  the 
body,  the  attitudes,  movements,  gestures,  poses  of  the  head,  carriage 
of  the  arms,  placing  of  the  feet,  and  all  those  nameless  properties  and 
charms,  which  are  in  some  the  unconscious  and  spontaneous  expression 
of  their  natures,  and,  in  others,  are  more  or  less  acquired  by  the 
faculty  of  imitation,  and  careful  training  and  culture. 

It  needs  no  argument  to  prove  that  beauty  was  not  intended  alone 
nor  chiefly  to  give  happiness  to  its  possessors  ;  and  that,  consequently, 
society  has  pre-eminent  rights  in  regard  to  it.  The  possession  of 
beauty,  then,  brings  with  it  a  heavy  responsibility.  You  have  no 
right  to  abuse,  or  mar,  or  spoil  it.  You  have  no  right  to  lose  it,  by 
neglect  of  health,  or  any  habit  which  tends  to  the  destruction  of 

445 


DEPORTMENT   AND    MANNERS.  449 

When  we  are  trying  to  reform  our  lives  and  make  ourselves  the  best 
we  can  be,  we  may  begin  with  the  external  deportment. 

The  carriage  of  the  body,  and  habits  of  dexterity,  grace,  and  ele- 
gance are  of  great  importance.  Children,  it  is  said,  are  always  grace- 
ful— they  are  simple,  unconscious,  unrestrained,  unaffected ;  and  the 
attitudes  and  movements  of  a  child  ought  to  be  as  pretty  as  those  of  a 
kitten  or  a  bird.  But  we  fall  into  bad  habits  ;  stoop  until  we  grow 
round-shouldered ;  get  into  awkward,  lounging  ways ;  carry  our  hands 
uneasily  as  if  they  did  not  belong  to  us,  and  make  ourselves  generally 

disagreeable. 

Straight  Figure  and  Full  Chest. 

A  little  care,  a  little  resolute  training,  the  observation  and  imitation 
of  ease  and  grace  in  others,  will  do  much  to  remedy  these  besetting 
sins.  If  a  boy  or  girl  will  every  day  stand  with  the  back  against  a 
wall,  and  brace  up  in  physical  uprightness,  it  will  soon  cure  a  droop- 
ing spine.  If  they  will  resolutely  let  the  arms  hang  quietly  at  the 
side,  they  will  conquer  the  bashful  tendency  to  fidget  with  the  fingers. 
If  a  girl  will  daily  open  her  chest,  and  breathe  full  breaths  for  some 
minutes,  she  will  improve  her  health  and  figure. 

Every  school-master  and  school-mistress  ought  to  be  somewhat  of 
a  drill-sergeant,  and  attend  to  the  personal  appearance  and  habits, 
carriage  and  manners,  of  the  pupils.  This  is  the  specialty  of  the 
dancing-master  and  gymnast,  no  doubt ;  but  as  every  school  cannot 
have  its  special  teacher  of  gymnastics  and  dancing,  all  our  teachers 
should  be  capable  of  giving  the  rudiments  at  least  of  refined  carriage 
and  manners. 

In  the  absence  of  direct  teaching,  much  is  done  by  unconscious  or 
conscious  imitation — only  we  should  know  what  models  we  ought  to 
admire.  The  worst  habits  of  more  exalted  personages  have  found 
multitudes  of  imitators.  Every  one  who,  by  position  or  talents,  grace 
or  beauty,  makes  an  impression  upon  others,  is  a  teacher  of  manners, 
How  little  do  people  think  of  their  responsibilities. 

To  walk  easily  the  body  must   be   erect,  but  not  stiff;  the  arms 
must  swing,  not  too  far  ;  the  chest  expanded  for  full  breathing  ;  the 
29 


454  DEPORTMENT   AND   MANNERS. 

• 
we  should  increase  our  distance.     We  need  not  be  shy  or  bashful, 

however  pretty  and  graceful  a  certain  amount  of  these  qualities  may 
be,  but  in  kindnesss  and  in  justice,  as  well  as  from  self-respect,  and 
the  desire  to  stand  well  with  others,  we  should  carefully  avoid  intru- 
siveness. 

Rules  of  Salutation. 

It  is  for  the  elder  person  to  first  salute,  or  welcome  the  younger ; 
for  the  person  in  a  higher  social  position  to  recognize  or  address  one 
in  a  lower ;  for  a  lady  to  be  the  first  to  salute,  speak  or  hold  out  her 
hand  to  a  gentleman.  When  two  strangers  meet,  if  there  is  any 
obvious  difference  in  age,  rank  or  position,  it  should  be  regarded.  A 
boy  should  not  enter  into  conversation  with  a  man,  nor  a  gentleman 
with  a  lady,  beyond  some  slight  civility,  without  due  encouragement. 

When  persons  meet  on  equal  terms,  in  a  railway  car,  at  the  sea- 
side, or  wherever  accident  may  throw  them  together,  although  there 
should  be  no  intrusion,  there  may  be,  and  ought  to  be,  on  the  part  ot 
every  one,  a  frank,  kindly,  neighborly  readiness  to  help  each  other 
by  word  and  deed. 

Very  pleasant  acquaintances  are  made,  and  life-long  friendships  arc 
sometimes  the  result  of  pleasant,  friendly,  and  genial  manners  among 
fellow-travellers.  The  habitual  reserve  of  nlost  people  is  senseless 
and  cruel. 

All  our  conduct  to  our  fellow-men  should  show  our  respect  for 
them,  our  regard  for  their  rights,  our  desire  for  their  happiness.  The 
first  element  of  good  manners  is  unselfishness.  The  moment  a  lady 
thinks  too  much  of  herself,  her  own  rights,  her  own  happiness,  she 
begins  to  be  rude  to  others.  The  more  entirely  she  devotes  herself 
to  securing  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  all  around  her,  the  better 
will  be  her  manners,  and  good  manners  are  "  twice  blessed."  As  the 
principle  of  all  good  conduct  in  society  is  the  love  of  the  neighbor, 
and  an  active  philanthropy,  so  the  element  of  all  evil  is  egotism,  sel- 
fishness, or  the  desire  of  one's  own  good  and  happiness,  without 
regard  to  the  rights  and  welfare  of  others.  Thus,  manners  must  be 
based  on  morale,  and  minor  morals  and  major  are  really  the  same. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
THE   SOCIAL   QUEEN. 

Qualifications  for  Good  Society  —  Value  of  Birth  and  Breeding  —  Honor  to  Ladies  — 
Mistress  of  the  House  —  Introductions  —  Salutations  —  Rudeness  to  Others  — 
Polite  Attentions  —  The  Sexes  Should  Go  Together  —  Variety  of  Ages  —  Perfect 
Kquality  —  The  Industrious  Woman  —  Agreeable  Companions  —  Taste  and  Re- 
finement —  Woman's  Mission  is  to  Adorn  —  Rules  of  Etiquette  —  Simplicity  in 
Behavior  —  Little  Observances  —  Receptions  —  Making  Calls  —  Use  of  Cards  — 
Taking  Leave  of  the  Host  —  Punctuality  —  "Doing  in  Rome  as  Romans  Do." 


OCIETY  is  a  word  of  large  and  various  meaning.  We  talk  of 
being  in  society  —  the  interests  of  society  —  a  good  position  in 
society  —  fashionable  society  —  general  society.  It  is  properly 
the  friendly  meeting  of  people  together  to  enjoy  conversation  and 
amusement  with  each  other.  To  enjoy  society,  mutual  protection, 
help,  and  to  be  amused  with  each  other,  men  gather  in  villages  and 
towns.  Meeting  often,  they  find  the  necessity  of  making  themselves 
agreeable  to  each  other.  They  refrain  from  offensive  or  injurious 
conduct,  and  they  find  frequent  occasions  for  mutual  civilities  and 
reciprocal  good  offices. 

To  live  pleasantly  with  each  other,  men  must  abandon,  or  at  least 
conceal,  selfishness,  injustice,  evil  tempers,  dishonesty,  falsehood,  and 
every  mean  and  annoying  disposition,  and  become,  or  at  least  appear 
to  be,  kind,  friendly,  disinterested,  obliging,  cheerful,  honest,  and 
honorable.  Contact  rounds  off  the  rough  edges  of  character,  and 
gives  polish  to  the  manners.  Politeness,  civility,  and  urbanity  mean 
the  manners  of  people  who  are  refined. 

In  a  large  sense,  every  person  is  considered  a  member  of  society  ; 
but  we  speak  of  a  solitary  person  as  one  who  goes  into  no  society  — 
meaning  one  who  neither  visits  nor  is  visited.  A  disreputable  person 
is  not  admitted  into  society.  A  morose  person  shuns  society.  A 
person  of  loose  habits  and  associations  mingles  in  low  society. 

Where  a  hereditary  aristocracy  rules,  a  man's  social  position  de- 
458 


THE   SOCIAL   QUEEN.  459 

pends  upon  his  ancestors.  Of  such  men  it  has  sometimes  been  said 
that  the  best  part  of  them  is  under  ground;  but  no  one  can  deny  the 
advantages  of  birth  and  breeding.  Wealth  gives  the  means  and  con- 
ditions of  the  highest  culture.  We  have  breeds  of  men  as  distinctly 
marked  as  our  breeds  of  dogs  and  horses,  and  men  are  born  with 
noble,  heroic,  and  beautiful  qualities  as  they  are  with  unfortunate  and 
base  ones. 

We  speak  rightly  of  born  liars  and  born  thieves.  There  is,  there- 
fore, an  aristocracy  of  birth,  and  to  be  well  born  is  a  great  good 
fortune.  But  this  kind  of  aristocracy  is  not  always  that  of  rank,  title 
or  wealth.  The  child  of  healthy,  honest,  educated  and  refined  parents 
is  well  born  and  a  true  aristocrat. 

Honor  Paid  to  the  True  Lady. 

High  society  is  composed  of  people  of  rank  or  wealth,  who  are  able 
to  live  in  a  certain  style  of  luxury  and  splendor ;  who  can  give  elegant 
dinners  and  balls,  and  assemble  around  them  people  of  taste  and 
fashion.  Good  society  is  composed  of  good,  friendly,  intelligent, 
tasteful  people,  who  can  benefit,  interest,  and  amuse  each  other. 

Everywhere  in  society  ladies  have  precedence  and  honor.  They 
are  to  have  the  first  seats  and  the  best  seats.  No  gentleman  can 
be  seated  while  a  lady  stands.  No  gentleman  can  help  himself  to 
anything  until  ladies  are  helped.  It  is  a  principle  of  society  that 
women  are  to  be  everywhere  deferred  to,  protected,  esteemed,  and 
honored.  More  deference  is  shown  to  women,  as  women,  in  America 
than  in  any  country  in  the  world, 

Over  all  social  festivities  the  lady  of  the  house  presides.  She 
receives  calls,  gives  invitations,  welcomes  the  guests,  sits  at  the  head 
of  the  table,  and  is  the  social  queen.  The  husband  devotes  himself 
to  the  ladies,  and  generally  to  the  comfort  of  the  guests. 

To  enter  a  society  to  which  one  is  a  stranger,  some  introduction  is 
required.  Going  to  a  strange  district,  one  carries  letters  of  introduc- 
tion. A  man  presents  you  to  his  friend,  and  vouches  for  your  social 
position  and  good  conduct.  He  introduces  you  to  others.  The 


464  THE   SOCIAL   QUEEN. 

serves  her  reputation,  no  doubt,  but  what  becomes  of  her  character  ? 
And,  in  the  absence  of  other  interests,  there  comes  to  many  young 
women  the  feverish  desire  for  marriage  and  a  settlement  in  life — a 
thing  which  should  never  rest  in  her  thoughts.  It  spoils  the  charm 
of  any  woman  to  be  always  thinking  of  a  possible  husband. 

Making  Matches  and  Hunting  Husbands. 

Match-making  mammas  are  bad  enough — husband-hunting  girls 
are  intolerable.  They  repel  more  than  they  attract.  A  woman  is 
never  so  charming  as  in  utter  unconsciousness  of  charm — never  so 
attractive  as  when  she  has  no  thought  of  attracting.  In  society,  all 
possibilities  of  future  relations  should  be  kept  out  of  sight,  and  every 
one  treated  according  to  his  merits.  Men  and  women  in  society  do 
not  meet  as  husbands  and  wives,  or  lovers — only  as  members  of 
society,  in  unrestrained  freedom  to  make  themselves  agreeable  to 
each  other. 

An  evident  flirtation  with  any  one  is  a  rudeness  to  all  the  rest  of  the 
company.  Special  attentions  are  in  bad  taste,  and  sure  to  .offend. 
And  when  a  lady  feels  that  she  has  made  the  impression  she  most 
wished  to  make  on  a  man  she  desired  to  attract  and  charm,  because 
she  felt  his  worth,  though  her  heart  may  bound  with  happiness,  she 
must  no  more  show  it  than  she  can  show  the  antipathies  and  disgusts 
excited  by  others. 

A  true-hearted  woman,  with  a  fair  amount  of  culture,  a  person  not 
disagreeable,  with  some  taste  and  observation  of  life,  and  a  warm 
benevolence,  and  desire  to  please,  can  scarcely  fail  to  make  herself  an 
agreeable  and  welcome  guest  in  every  circle.  But  a  false,  uncultured 
one,  with  no  taste  or  care  for  pleasing,  critical  and  censorious,  jealous 
and  malicious,  is  one  of  the  worst  samples  of  the  feminine  part  of 
humanity. 

A  lady  of  taste,  refinement,  and  with  so  much  of  wealth  and  fashion 
as  to  give  her  a  certain  position  in  society,  may  become  the  centre  of 
a  circle,  a  social  pivot,  an  educator,  and  in  many  ways  a  benefactor. 
Her  furniture,  the  order  of  her  apartments,  her  pictures  and  statuary, 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
THE  ART  OF  CONVERSING  WELL. 

Value  of  Good  Talk  —  Conversation  of  Animals  —  All  Can  Have  Something  to  Say 

—  The  Good  Listener  —  Guiding  the  Conversation  —  Regard    to  Rights    and 
Opinions  of  Others—  Making  Others  Talk—  Topics  that  are  of  Mutual  Interest 

—  Wit  and  Humor  —  Anecdotes  —  Talk  at  Table  —  Sense  and  Knowledge—  Prosy 
People  —  Hobbies  —  Slang  —  Egotism  and  Boasting  —  Pet  Phrases  —  I/ong-winded 
Talkers  —  Impolite  Questions  —  Giving  Attention  —  Avoiding  Discussions  —  Pay- 
ing Compliments  —  Moral  Character. 


"  /^OOD  TALK,"  says  the  author  of  Realmah,  "  is  ever  one  of 
\J  the  choicest  things  in  the  world,  and  wins  all  people  who 
come  within  its  sphere."  Our  social  life  is  chiefly  conversa- 
tion —  a  turning  together  —  the  interchange  of  thought  and  feeling. 

It  is  probable  that  all  animals  which  associate  with  each  other  have 
language  and  conversation  —  some  method  of  communicating  informa- 
tion and  expressing  feeling.  Ants  and  bees  evidently  talk  with  each 
other.  When  a  prize  is  at  hand,  or  danger  threatens,  the  whole 
swarm  is  quickly  told  of  it.  They  act  in  concert.  They  carry  on 
complicated  operations  quite  impossible  without  some  power  of  con- 
versation. The  hen  clucking  to  her  brood  calls  them  to  the  food  she 
has  discovered,  gathers  them  under  her  wings,  or  gives  warning  of 
danger  when  she  sees  a  hawk  hovering  in  the  sky. 

In  a  morning  of  spring,  when  the  groves  are  full  of  melody,  it  must 
be  that  the  melody  has  meaning,  and  that  every  phrase  is  understood, 
at  least  by  birds  of  the  same  species.  The  lowing  and  bleating  herds 
must  also  talk  to  each  other.  Dogs  talk  together,  and  learn  to 
understand  us  much  better  than  we  do  them.  The  elephant  has  a 
very  human  comprehension  of  the  orders  of  his  keeper  ;  and  elephants 

who  live  in  societies  hold  converse  with  each  other. 

• 

"  Steed  threatens  steed  in  high  and  boastful  neighings." 

The  conversation  of  animals  is  natural  or  instinctive.  If  men  ever 
had  such  a  natural  language,  it  has  been  lost.  Instead  of  it  we  have 

473 


474  THE  ART   OF   CONVERSING   WELL. 

hundreds  of  dialects  made  up  of  artificial,  conventional,  articulate 
sounds.  What  we  have  of  instinctive  language  consists  in  gestures, 
grimaces,  tones,  modulations,  inflexions,  emphasis.  Whatever  lan- 
guage men  speak,  we  know  by  sight  and  hearing  whether  they  are 
pleased  or  vexed — whether  they  hate  or  love. 

Our  conversation  is,  therefore,  partly  natural  or  instinctive  in  tones, 
gestures,  and  expressions  of  the  countenance,  laughter,  tears,  and  all 
the  picturesqueness  and  melody  of  speech  ;  and  partly  artificial  and 
conventional  in  the  use  of  words,  or  articulate  sounds,  whose  meaning 
has  been  agreed  upon.  The  beauty  of  all  conversation  consists  in  the 
choice  admixture  of  these  two  elements  of  language.  We  like  to  see 
those  with  whom  we  converse.  The  glances  of  the  eye,  the  flushings 
of  the  cheek,  the  smiles  or  frowns,  and  all  expressions  of  feeling  on 
the  mobile  face,  the  motions  of  the  head,  the  slight  shrugs  of  the 
shoulders  tell  as  much  as,  often  far  more  than,  the  spoken  words. 

Good  Talkers   and   Readers. 

Then  how  much  more  expressive  is  speech  than  writing.  The 
written  word  has  one  meaning — the  spoken  word  may  have  a  dozen. 
We  vary  it  with  every  mode  of  utterance.  Written  language,  how- 
ever carefully  taken  down,  may  give  but  the  faintest  idea  of  the  elo- 
quence, or  even  the  meaning  of  a  speaker.  Thus  no  reporter  can  do 
justice  to  some  orators,  who  have  produced  the  strongest  impression 
upon  multitudes  of  hearers  ;  people  delight  us  with  the  warmth,  grace 
and  vivacity  of  their  conversation,  whose  words,  if  accurately  written 
down,  would  seem  tame  and  insipid.  The  life  that  goes  with  the 
speech  is  wanting.  In  reading,  words  have  what  we  are  able  to  put 
into  them.  Good  readers  are  those  who  can  express  the  sense  and 
sentiment  of  a  writer  as  he  would  wish  to  express  them  in  speech. 

As  we  all  talk  more  or  less ;  as  conversation  is  the  life,  the  nervous 
circulation  of  the  social  body,  we  should  try  to  talk  well.  To  do  this 
we  must  have  intelligence,  knowledge,  facts  of  interest,  things  and 
thoughts,  ideas  and  sentiments,  which  others  may  wish  to  hear ;  and 
we  must  be  able  to  convey  our  ideas  in  a  clear  and  pleasant  manner. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
MISCELLANEOUS  RULES  OF  ETIQUETTE. 

Rights  of  the  Sidewalk — Meeting  on  the  Street — Washington's  Politeness— The 
Veil — Street  Recognition — Behavior  in  Church — Punctuality — Reverent  De- 
meanor— The  Tardy — The  Talkative  and  Restless — Expressing  Approval — 
How  to  Treat  "Company" — Gallantry — Politeness  at  Home — The  Hoiden — 
The  Prude — Indoor  Recreations — Undue  Familiarity — Courtesy  to  Strangers  — 
Formal  Calls — Social  Visits  and  Entertainments — Simpering  and  Frivolity. 

YOUNG  people  often  seem  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  their 
behavior  on  the  street  attracts  the  attention  of  older  people, 
and  impresses  them  with  favorable  or  unfavorable  ideas  of 
their  character.  Propriety  should  govern  all  street  behavior.  Polite 
people  never  do  anything  on  the  street  to  attract  attention ;  they  should 
neither  talk  in  a  loud,  boisterous  manner,  nor  laugh  uproariously. 
Conversation  that  is  so  noisy  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  passing 
crowd  is  either  the  result  of  ignorance  or  of  a  petty  effort  to  secure  a 
little  vulgar  notoriety. 

It  is  not  courteous  for  young  persons  of  either  or  of  both  sexes  to 
have  long  conferences  on  the  street,  as  they  may  obstruct  the  side- 
walk, and  at  the  same  time  excite  both  critical  and  unpleasant 
remarks.  Every  person  is  entitled  to  his  share  of  the  sidewalk,  and 
this  right  should  always  be  respected.  It  is  only  the  rude,  low-bred 
woman  and  the  blustering  bully  that  assert  their  vulgarity  by  refusing 
to  give  the  half  of  the  pavement.  As  a  gentleman  or  lady  can  nevei 
afford  to  come  in  collision  with  such  people,  it  would  be  better  they 
should  even  leave  the  sidewalks  than  be  jostled.  To  assert  our  real  or 
fancied  superiority  by  depriving  others  of  their  rights  is  rude  and 
vulgar. 

When    persons    pass    each    other. on    the   pavement,  they  should 

observe  the  same  rule  that  drivers  do  on  the  street,  in  order  to  avoid 

the  inconvenience  and  danger  of  a  collision.     Each  should  keep  to  the 

right.     When  a  gentleman  and  lady  walk  in  company,    he    should 

492 


RULES   OF   ETIQUETTE.  493 

be  at  the  lady's  left,  in  order  to  prevent  those  passing  from  running 
against  her.  There  is  no  necessity  for  the  gentleman  to  change  his 
position  at  every  corner,  in  order  that  he  may  be  on  the  side  next  the 
street.  She  will  be  protected  better  if  always  at  the  gentleman's  right 
Persons  walking  in  company  should  always  keep  step  together. 

When  a  gentleman  and  lady  cross  the  street  in  company,  and  the 
crossing  is  narrow  and  muddy,  requiring  them  to  go  singly,  delicacy 
requires  that  he  should  precede  her,  for  the  same  reason  that  he  should 
be  the  first  to  go  upstairs  and  the  last  to  come  down. 

Persons  should  not  be  so  engrossed  in  conversation  as  to  pass  their 
friends  upon  the  street  without  notice,  if  it  only  be  a  slight  inclination 
of  the  head  and  a  pleasant  smile.  Serious  offense  may  be  unwittingly 
given  to  those  whom  we  should  have  recognized,  but  seemed  to  forget. 
Such  apparent  neglect  is  very  trying  to  the  self-love  of  sensitive  people, 
and  may  be  mistaken  for  intentional  rudeness. 

Anecdote  of  Washington. 

Captain  Stephen  Trowbridge,  once  the  oldest  male  inhabitant  of 
Milford,  N.  H.,  told  the  following  incident  of  Washington's  visit  to 
that  village  in  1790:  While  the  latter  was  walking  about  the  town, 
attended  by  a  number  of  his  officers,  a  colored  soldier,  who  had 
fought  under  him  and  lost  a  limb  in  his  service,  made  his  way  up  to 
the  general  and  saluted  him.  Washington  turned  to  this  colored 
soldier,  shook  hands  with  him,  and  gave  him  a  present  of  a  silver 
dollar.  One  of  the  attendants  objected  to  the  civilities  thus  shown  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  such  an  humble  person ;  but 
Washington  rebuked  him  sharply,  asking  if  he  should  permit  this 
colored  man  to  excel  him  in  politeness. 

When  a  lady  appears  on  the  street  witK  a  veil  over  her  face,  it  may 
sometimes  be  a  sign  that  she  does  not  wish  to  be  recognized,  and  an 
acquaintance  may  pass  her  as  a  stranger,  without  either  giving  or 
taking  offense.  If  the  lady,  on  approaching,  shall  remove  her  veil,  it 
indicates  that  she  wishes  to  be  seen  and  known. 

Young  people  should  always  be  prompt  to  acknowledge  the  polite- 


Alphabetical  Irjdex  of  Subjects. 


Ablution,  Best  Method  of   ....  378 

Ablutions  in  Labor 183 

Abdomen,  Increased  Size  of  .  .  .110 
Accomplishments,  Artificial  ...  35 
Accomplishments,  Female  ....  351 

Acidity,  Treatment  for 259 

Advice  to  the  Unmarried 26 

Affections,  Trifling  with 33 

Affection,  Filial 499 

Afterbirth,  Battledore 177 

Afterbirth,  The 150 

Afterbirths,  Twin 173 

Air,  Necessity  of  Pure 238 

American  Mothers,  Appeal  to    .    .  344 

Amusements 500 

Animation,  To  Restore  Suspended  176 
Animal  Kingdom,  Lesson  from  .  .  47 

Appearance,  Personal 351 

Appetite,  Morbid  in  Pregnancy.    .  112 

Approbation,  Showing 497 

Asthma  in  Children 330 

Artificial  Food  for  Infants  ....  289 
Awkward  Persons 440 

B 

Baths,  Cold  and  Hot .    .    .    .    .    .    .371 

Baldness 399 

Baths  and  Injections  for  Whites    .  246 

Bathing,  Best  Time  for 282 

Baldness  of  Age 416 

Bandage  After  Labor 179 

Bathing  for  Health  and  Beauty  .    .  363 

Beauty,  Female 351 

Beautifier,  Nature's  Greatest  .    .    .349 

Beauty  and  Bodily  Vigor 389 

Beauty,  Decay  of 360 

Beauty  Impaired  by  Disease   .    .    .  381 


Beauty  of  Face  and  Features  .    .    .  420 

Beauty  of  Woman 52 

Beauty,  True  Basis  of 359 

Bladder,  Attention  to  in  Labor  .    .132 

Blood,  How  Purified 382 

Bleeding,  How  to  Stop 392 

Body,  Exhalations  from 120 

Bones  and  Ligaments 68 

Bonnets  and  Hats 442 

Breast,  Ailments  of 197 

Breast,  Applications  for 198 

Breast,  Darting  Pains  in 107 

Breasts,  Inflammation  of 254 

Breast-pumps 224 

Breast,  Gathered 222 

Breast  Nourishment,   Substitutes 

for 290 

Breast,  Two  Forms  of  Gathered  .  225 
Breast,  Permanent  Injuries  of.  .  226 
Breasts,  Remedy  for  Full  .  .  .  215 
Breeding,  A  Mark  of  Bad  ....  496 

Brown  Bread,  Value  of 228 

Bruises,  How  to  Treat 390 

Burns,  How  to  Treat  .  .  390 


Cards,  Visiting 465 

"Change  of  Life,"  Medicine  for  .  251 

Child,  Weaning  of 212 

Children,  Diet  for  . 317 

Children,  Diseases  of 312 

Child-bed  Fever 268 

Children,  Neglected  by  Parents  .    25 
Children,  Dependent  on  Parents  .    31 

Children,  Precocious 38 

Children,  Feeble 83 

Children,  Limiting  the  Number  of  104 
505 


506 


ALPHABETICAL   INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


Childbirth,  Mother's  Joy  in  .    .    .171 

Character,  How  Formed 95 

14  Change  of  Life  " 90 

Chloroform  in  Labor    .    .    . .  .    .    .171 

Chest,  A  Full 449 

Cholera  Infantum   and    Summer 

Complaint 324 

Church,  Behavoir  in 494 

Clothing  and  Ablution 277 

Clothing,  Danger  of  Changing  .    .  443 

Clothing,  Warm 239 

Complexion,  How  Perfected  .  .  .373 
Cold  in  the  Head  ..-*....  314 

Coffee,  Effects  of 229 

Constipation  of  Pregnancy  ....  260 

Cold,  To  Prevent  Taking 279 

Conversation,  Art  of 473 

Convulsions  in  Teething 303 

Corns,  Removal  of 346 

Coquettes  and  Flatterers 28 

Consent  of  Parents 32 

Cosmetics 352 

Consumption 336 

Consumption,  Last  Stages  of  ...  337 
Conversation,  Guiding  the  .  .  .  .475 

Constipation  of  Infants 322 

Constitution,  How  Broken  Down  .  53 
Courtesies  in  Private  and  Public  .  62 

Courtship 59 

Conception 95 

Conception,  How  Prevented    .    .    .  103 

Conception,  Laws  of 99 

Costiveness  in  Pregnancy  ....  168 
Costiveness  Treatment  for  ...  .  169 
Coition,  Rules  for  Performing  .  .  102 
Complexion,  Affected  by  Sunlight  376 

Common  Sense 205 

Cough  in  Teething 309 

Colic,  Children's 315 

Costiveness,  Remedies  for   ....  343 

Cramps  in  Labor 164 

"Crooked  Stick" „    .    26 

Crying  of  Newborn  Children  .  .  315 
Curious  Facts  .  .  85 


Customs,  Social 466 

Curling-tongs 402 

Customs,  False 22 

D 

Dandruff,  To  Remove 383 

Dancing-masters 448 

Depilatories 418 

Deportment 445 

Diet  and  Regimen  for  Women  .    .  270 

Diet  for  the  Infant 287 

Diarrhoea  of  Children  ......  324 

Diseases  Peculiar  to  Women  .    .    .  232 

Diseases  of  Children 312 

Disease  Fatal  to  Beauty 381 

Disease,  Sin  of  Transmitting  ...    46 

Disease,  How  to  Prevent 331 

Disease,  Sources  of 121 

Diet,  Poor  and  Insufficient   .    .    .338 

Diet  During  Pregnancy 122 

Diet,  Variety  of  for  the  Mother  .    .  204 

Disposition,  A  Sunny 455 

Disinfectants,  Use  of 118 

Doctors,  Mischief-making   ....  206 

Dress,  Absurdities  of 436 

Dress  and  Display 64 

Dress,  Rules  for  .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .  435 

Dress,  Follies  of     ........    42 

Dress,  Improprieties  of 353 

Dress,  Governed  by  Health    .    .    .114 

Dress,  Tasteful 434 

Dress,  Stripes  of 437 

Dress,  Suited  to  the  Complexion  .  438 

Drinks,  Adulterated 357 

Dyspepsia 208 


Ears,  The 430 

Education  at  Home 24 

Eggs  in  Animals 129 

Embryo,  Fifteen  Days  Old  .    .    .    .142 
Embryo,  Twenty-one  Days  Old   .  143 

Employments,  Useful 463 

Enjoyments,  Domestic 27 


ALPHABETICAL   INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


507 


PAGE 

Errors  to  be  Avoided 30 

Etiquette,  Rules  of 492 

Etiquette  to  be  Studied 466 

Excitement  in  Pregnancy   ....  113 
Exhaustion,  Treatment  for  Female  266 

Exercise,  Importance  of 193 

Eyebrows,  How  to  Beautify    .    .    .  424 

Eyes,  Beauty  of 421 

Eyes,  How  Injured 423 

Eyes,  What  to  Do  for  Them  .       .  422 


Face  Pimples      ........  345 

Face  and  Features 420 

Face,  Protection  for  the  .".  .  .  .441 
Faces,  Sallow  and  Scrawny  .  .  .  358 

Fainting   ..'.'* 342 

Falling  Womb,  Treatment  for  .    .  250 

Fallopian  Tubes 78 

Fashion,  Slaves  of  .........  439 

Fatigue,  Avoiding 450 

Female  Forms,  Laced  and  Unlaced  43 

File  Used  for  Corns 347 

Fits  in  Children .    .  326 

Flatulence  in  Children 319 

Flatterers 28 

Flesh-brushes  ..........  380 

Flesh-gloves    .    .    ...    ...    .    .380 

Flesh,  Loss  of  in  Pregnancy  .    .    .  Ill 

Flooding,  Alarming 254 

Flooding,  Treatment  for 256 

Foetus,  Development  of 140 

Foetus,  Misplaced  .....    .    .    .272 

Food,  Adulterated 357 

Food,  How  Given  to  Infants  .    .    .  294 

Food,  Highly  Seasoned 124 

Freckles,  How  to  Remove  ....  385 
French  and  Americans  Contrasted  369 
Friction,  Good  for  the  System  .  .  379 
Fruit,  Effect  Upon  a  Child  ....  306 


Generation,  Organs  of 66 

Generation,  Wonders  of 133 


Genital  Organs,  Female 71 

Gestation,  Period  of 151 

Gestation,  Time  Required  for    .    .  149 

Germs,  Production  of 135 

Germ,  The  Life .  101 

Girls,  True  Accomplishments  of .  23 
Girls,  Exercise  and  Food  for  .  .  .  350 
Gluttony,  Sin  of .  .  .  .  i'  .  •'.  -.  .451 
Golden  Rule  ..........  457 

Gossips  and  Croakers 170 

Graafian  Vesicles 79 

Graafian  Vesicle,  Diagram  of  .    .    .    80 

Green  Sickness , ' .   .   .234 

Gum-boils 346 

Gums,  Hard  Substances  Injure  .    .  304 

Gums,  Lancing  the 302 

Gums,  Swollen 309 

Gymnastics 448 

H 

Hair,  Management  of 400 

Hair,  Pomade  for 402 

Hair-brushes 401 

Hair,  Good  Applications  for    ...  408 

Hair  Straight  or  Curly .397 

Hair,  "Standing  on  End"     .    .    .395 

Hair,  Artificial  Styles  of 403 

Hair  and  Curling-tongs 402 

Hair,  Skill  in  Cutting 406 

Hair  of  French  Royalty 394 

Hair,  Gray .399 

Hair  Injured  by  Dressing  ....  404 
Hair,  Treated  with  Electricity  .  .  415 

Hair,  Restoration  of 411 

Hair,  Affected  by  Age 398 

Hairs,  to  Remove  Superfluous  .  .  418 
Hair,  Rosemary  Water  for  ....  417 

Hair,  Ammonia  for  the 417 

Hair,  Loss  of 412 

Hair,  Ornamental  Dressing  of    .    .  440 

Hats  and  Bonnets  .    .  * 442 

Happiness  and  Love 57 

Head,  Keeping  it  Cool 285 

Health,  A  Test  of ,  100 


508 


ALPHABETICAL    INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


Health,  Bracing  Up  the 237 

Health,  Essentials  of 356 

Health  Promoted  by  Bathing  .    .    .364 

Heartburn  in  Pregnancy 112 

Heartburn,  Treatment  for   ....  259 

Heart,  Service  of 58 

Heart  Weakness 233 

Head,  A  Dust-trap 407 

Heredity,  Ignorance  of 47 

Hiccough 313 

Home  Education 24 

How  to  Prevent  Disease 331 

Husband,  Anxious  to  Get   ....    27 
Hymen,  The 72 

I 

Idleness 456 

Infant,  Clothing  for 283 

Infant,  Wakefulness  of 315 

Infant,  Diet  for 287 

Infants,  Tongue-tied 288 

Indigestion  of  Children 318 

Inflammation,  How  Produced   .    .  224 

Introduction,  Letters  of 469 

Introductions,  When  Not  Needed  460 
Instruments,  Use  of  in  Labor     .    .  165 


Labor  in  Childbirth 160 

Labor,  Clothing  After 178 

Labor,  Afterpains  of 167 

Labor,  Regular  Pains  of 161 

Labor,  Sickness  in 162 

Labor  Without  a  Doctor 173 

Labor,  Symptoms  of 161 

Labor,  Three  Stages  of 167 

Labor,  Usual  Length  of  Time  .    .    166 

Lactation 194 

Ladies,  Honors  Paid  to 459 

Lemonade  as  a  Beverage 384 

Life  and  Happiness 36 

Light,  Effects  of 377 

Like  Begets  Like <*7 

Lips,  Remedy  for  Chapped 


PAGE 

Little  Things,  Importance  of  ...  467 

Love  and  Parentage 49 

Love  and  Marriage 18 

Love  Lasts  a  Lifetime  .....  50 
Love,  Not  to  be  Stimulated  ...  29 

Lovers,  Young 60 

Lying-in  Room,  The 180 

M 

Mamma,  Milk-ducts  in 199 

Mamma,  Section  of 202 

Manners,  Good 445 

Marriage  and  Female  Beauty  .  .  52 
Marriages,  Causes  of  Unhappy  .  .  19 

Marriage,  Natural 18 

Marriage,  Preparation  for  ....  23 
Marriage,  Responsibility  of  ...  45 
Marriage  Qualifications  for  ...  17 
Marital  Kindness,  Example  of  .  .  56 

Marrying,  Best  Age  for 82 

Match-making  Mothers 464 

Meanness 358 

Medicine,  Constant  Doses  of  ...  230 
Medicines  Lose  their  Effect  .  .  .  344 

Melancholy 208 

Menstrual  Discharge 86 

Menstruation,  Regularity  of  ...    89 

Menstruation 81 

Menstruation,  Profuse 241 

Menstruation,  Causes  of  Profuse    .  241 

Menses,  Suppression  of 236 

Menses,  Treatment  for  Suppres- 
sion     236 

Mental  Depression     ,    .    205 

Mental  Organization 37 

Milk,  Secretion  of 264 

Milk-fever 200 

Milk,  Sudden  Diminution  of  ...  216 

Milk,  Loss  of 221 

Milk,  Mother's  the  Best 204 

Milk-crust 320 

Milk,  How  to  Prepare 297 

Mind  and  Body 19 

i      Miscarriage,  Causes  of 187 


ALPHABETICAL   INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


509 


Miscarriage,  Greatest  Danger  of  .  190 
Miscarriage,  Symptoms  of  ....  189 
Miscarriage,  Treatment  for  .  .  .  191 

Misery  in  Married  Life 34 

Mohammed's  Paradise 17 

Moles,  How  Removed 386 

Mother,  Employment  for  the  .  .  185 
Mothers,  Delicate 295 


N 


Navel-strings 

Neck  of  Beauty 

Neglect,  Blighting  Effects  of  . 

Nervous  Affections 

Newly  Married,  Truths  for     . 
Nipple,  Bitter  Applications  for 
Nipples,  Cracked  and  Fissured 
Nipple,  Dark  Circle  Around  . 
Nipples,  Small  and  Drawn  in  . 
Nose,  The     ....   ,   .   .  ,    . 

Nose-bleeding  ........ 

Nose,  How  Changed  in  Form 

Nostrums 

Nurses,  Good  and  Bad  .... 
Nurses,  Interference  by  ... 
Nursing,  A  Duty  of  Mothers  . 
Nursing,  A  Healthy  Process  . 

Nursing,  Effects  of 

Nursing  Mother,  Food  for  .    . 

Nursing,  Too  Much 

Nursing,  Wrong  Position  in  . 


.  173 
.431 
.  63 
.  91 
.  55 
.  214 
.  221 
.  107 
.  219 
,  425 
.341 
.  425 
.352 
.  184 
.  200 
.  195 
.  196 
.  87 
.203 
.  202 
.223 


Occupation,  Recommended    .    .    .  209 
Organs,  Male  and  Female  ....    96 

Ornaments,  Wearing  of 444 

Ovaries,  of  the  Female 130 

Ovaries,  What  for 134 

Ovisacs 79 

Ovum,  Diagram  of 144 

Ovum  Passing  into  the  Womb   .    .  131 
Ovum,  In  Fallopian  Tube   ....  132 

Ovum  of  Five  Weeks 145 

Ovum,  Entering  the  Womb  Cavity  142 


PAGE 

Ovum  of  a  Rabbit 136 

Ovum,  Ripe 133 

Ovum  of  Eight  Weeks 147 

Ovum  of  Five  Months 148 

Ovum,  Fourteen  Days  Old  ....  141 

Ovum  of  Seven  Weeks  .    ....    .145 

Ovum,  The  Human 128 


Pain,  Benefits  of 119 

Palpitation  of  Heart 233 

Parasol,  Use  of 441 

Parlor,  Etiquette  of  the 468 

Parturition 160 

Pelvis,  The 65 

Pelvis,  Deformed 69 

Pelvis,  Male  and  Female 68 

"Periods"  During  Suckling  .    .    .  211 

Pimples  and  Blotches 345 

Poisons,  Contagious 366 

Politeness 445 

Politeness  of  the  French 453 

Pomade  for  the  Hair 402 

Powder,  The  Best  for  Infants  .    .    .281 

Pregnancy,    Bathing  in 115 

Pregnancy,  Best  Clothing  in  ...  113 
Pregnancy,  Activity  During  .  .  .  117 

Pregnancy 106 

Pregnancy,  Indolence  and  Weak- 
ness in 116 

Pregnancy,     Remedies     for    Ail- 
ments of 126 

Pregnancy  External  to  the  Womb  271 
Pregnancy,  Extra- uterine  ....  273 
Pregnancy,  Health  Rules  for  .  .  .  115 

Pregnancy,  Time  Table 152 

Profuse  Menstruation,    Remedies 

for 343 

Pulse,  an  Index  of  Health   .    .    .    .  361 

Puberty 82 

Puberty,  Remarkable  Changes  at  133 

Pulse,  How  Affected 362 

Punctuality 471 

Purification  by  Water 367 


510 


ALPHABETICAL   INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


Q  PAGE 

Quaker,  Story  of 56 

Qualifications  for  Marriage  ....    17 

Quarrels  in  Married  Life 27 

Queen,  Social 458 

Quickening,   Causes    and    Sensa- 
tions of 109 

Quickening,  Period  of 108 


Readers,  Poor 474 

Receptions 470 

Refreshment  After  Labor  ....  179 
Refreshments  at  Receptions  .  .  .  470 
Relatives,  Evils  of  Marrying  ...  46 

Rest,  Necessity  of 122 

Rice  for  the  Baby 292 

S 

Salutation,  Rules  of 454 

Scab  in  Children 320 

Scalds,  How  to  Treat 390 

Scalp,  Friction  for  the 414 

Scalp,  Washing  of  the 405 

Scrofula 332 

Seasoning  for  Infants'  Food  .    .    .  294 

Seeds  in  Vegetables ,.129 

Self-discipline 21 

Seminal  Granules 139 

Sex,  Can  It  Be  Determined?  ...  158 

Sexes,  Proportion  of '  159 

Sexes  Should  Not  be  Separated  .    .  461 

Shoulders,  Broad 39 

Skin,  A  Delicate  Structure  ....  375 
Skin  Diseases,  How  to  Prevent  .  .  281 

Skin,  Three  Layers  of 374 

Skin,  Treatment  of 365 

Sleep,  Best  Apartment  for  ....  125 

Smallpox  Pits 388 

Snuffles 314 

Soap  and  Water 370 

Social  Distinctions 462 

Social  Queen,  The 458 

Society  .    .    .    . !  ; 452 


PAGE 

Sore  Throat 339 

Spermatozoa 97 

Spermatic  Fluid  and  the  Ovaries  .    98 

Spine,  Curvature  of 334 

Spine,  Treatment  of  Diseased  .    .    .335 

Stillbirths 174 

Stomach,  Making  an  Idol  of  .  .  .  41 
Stomach  Overloaded  in  Pregnancy  123 

Stooping,  Evils  of 334 

Sucking  the  Thumb 305 

Suckling,  Stated  Times  for  .  .  .  201 
Sunlight  and  the  Complexion  .  .  376 
Swelling  of  Lower  Limbs  ....  262 


Talkers,  Good 474 

Teeth,  A  Natural  Growth    ....  310 

Teeth,  Care  of  the 428 

Teeth,  Effective  Cleaning  of  ...  429 

Teeth,  Second  Set 311 

Teething 301 

Teething,  Remedies  for  Painful    .  308 

Teething,  Painful 307 

Tea,  Effects  of 229 

Temper,  An  Amiable 207 

Temperaments 41 

Testes,  Anatomy  of 137 

Testis,  Body  of 138 

Thrush  in  Infants .  321 

Thorax,  Natural  Form  of  ....    40 

Time  for  Bathing 282 

Tobacco,  Bad  Effects  of 340 

Toothache  During  Pregnancy    .    .  261 

Towel,  The  Rough 239 

Truths  for  the  Newly  Married   .    .    55 

Twins,  Cases  of 150 

Twins,  Position  of  in  the  Womb   .  175 

U 

Unmarried,  Advice  to 26 

Urinary  Difficulties  During  Preg- 
nancy      -  .  263 

Uterus,  The 74 


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Hair  and  How  to  Dress  It. 

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-CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF 

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—POLITENESS;  OR,  WOMAN  IN 

Dress  ;  Deportment  and  Manners  ;  The  Art  of  C 
the  Best  Society,  are  all  plainly  stated. 

CONDITIONS 

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